Eyes On Fire
by phoenixwritesSPN
Summary: *This is the sixth installment of my SPN fanfiction series! Read the other five first if you haven't already! [Dean/OFC] *s6*(Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or the lyrics written in the chapters.)
1. Wish You Were Here

**;D**

* * *

 _So, so you think you can tell  
Heaven from Hell  
Blue skies from pain  
Can you tell a green field  
From a cold steel rail  
A smile from a veil  
Well, do you think you can tell?_

 _Did they get to trade your hero's for ghosts?  
Hot ashes for trees  
Hot air for a cool breeze  
Cold comfort for change  
Did you exchange a walk on part in the war  
For a lead role in the cage_

 _How I wish  
How I wish you were here_

 _We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl  
Year after year  
Running over the same old ground  
What have we found?  
The same old fear  
I wish you were here  
…._

 _I'll stand by you til the day I die  
(You're my special soul)  
Bet your heart, bet your heart  
I'll stand by you til the day I die  
I got the whole world counting on things I'm gonna do, well  
Come back to me, come back today  
(Bet your heart, bet your heart)  
Seasons may change, but my love's a lifetime_

 _Closing my eyes for sleeping California  
I'm closing my eyes  
Closing my eyes for sleepless California  
I'm closing my eyes  
Closing my eyes for sleepless California  
Open my eyes for sleepless California _

_**True Violet – Wish You Were Here (Cover)**_

* * *

 _As I tried to rush forward, I felt a pair of strong hands, stop me dead in my tracks, their nails digging into my flesh to keep me in place as my own nails dug deep into the soil beneath me, dirt stuffing deep underneath them. My eyes widened in horror as I watched the wind blow around Sam, his body beginning to fall back into the deep, seemingly never-ending hole that had opened up in the ground. I heard a scream, taking a moment before I realized it was coming from me._

 _Tears flowed down my cheeks as Sam disappeared into the abyss, the cavity shutting in the blink of an eye._

My eyes snapped open and I was staring at the ceiling in the spare bedroom at Bobby's house. Dean and I had been staying here for the past few days. And needless to say, those days were...bleak. We seemed to be in this never ending cycle of misery, the same thing over and over again. The same nightmares, the same sadness. I prayed, I begged, I pleaded, but nothing happened.

Dean was abnormally quiet and unattached, not like himself at all. It killed me to see him that way. Though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the same.

I wanted desperately to try and get Sam free, staying up late looking through Bobby's vast collection of books to see if I could find something- anything. I know Dean did the same, sneaking out of the bedroom in the middle of the night when he thought I was asleep.

Neither one of us ever mentioned what we'd been doing, to each other. Whether it be because we just couldn't bare to talk about it, or because we didn't want to disappoint each other when the lead we caught turned out to be absolutely nothing. But there was also one of the last conversations we had with Sam lingering in the back of my mind, stopping me each time.

We promised Sam that if he was strong enough to take back control of Lucifer, which he undoubtedly was, that we wouldn't go poking around the cage to try and get him out.

I was torn between keeping a promise or breaking it completely. And no one would help us, no one wanted to. Not even Cas, who all but disappeared. Though I wasn't entirely sure I could blame him...

* * *

 **LAWRENCE, KANSAS – NIGHT**

 **Three days ago**

Sitting in the passenger seat of the Impala, I felt numb. I had no idea how in the hell Dean was driving right now without sending us careening into a ditch somewhere. I couldn't make myself concentrate on anything but the while stripe running along the asphalt near the grass line.

The paint was cracked and faded, wearing from it's time spent being run over. I couldn't help but feel similar.

I just watched my little brother kill himself to save the world that an uncaring and selfish God created. A world that doesn't give a shit about _Sam Winchester._ A world that doesn't even know who he is, who probably never would.

But that never mattered to Sam, did it? Honestly, it never mattered to me either. But now, things were different. Why did we have to hurt to save all the assholes on this god-forsaken planet? Why did we have to do what should be God's job?

The ringing in my ears blared and I turned around, seeing Castiel sitting in the backseat, staring at me. I stared back, pulling in a breath. Dean glanced over, seeing the angel out of the corner of his eye. "What are you gonna do now?"

"Return to Heaven, I suppose." Cas replied. I rolled my eyes, silently looking back out the window.

"Heaven?" Dean scoffed.

"With Michael in the Cage, I'm sure it's total anarchy up there."

"So, what, you're the new sheriff in town?"

"I like that." Castiel nodded approvingly. "Yeah. I suppose I am."

"Wow. God gives you a brand-new, shiny set of wings, and suddenly you're his bitch again."

"I don't know what God wants. I don't know if he'll even return. It just... seems like the right thing to do."

"Well, if you do see him, you tell him I'm coming for him next." Dean said, his voice hard and cold. I didn't react in surprise, feeling the same way inside.

"You're angry. "

"That's a fucking understatement."

"God helped. Maybe even more than we realize." Castiel said. I scoffed, shaking my head.

"That's easy for you to say. He brought you back. But what about Sam? What about us, huh? Where's our grand prize? All I got is my brother in a hole!"

"You got what you asked for. No paradise. No hell. Just more of the same. What would you rather have? Peace or freedom?"

"You know what, Cas? Screw you." I spat, turning around to face the surprised angel.

"Excuse me?"

"Screw you and your self-righteousness. You have no right to say that to us." I pulled the box of grace out of my pocket, throwing it back at the angel, who caught it. "Take that, too."

"Victoria, this- it's useless to me. You're the only one who can open it."

"Fine. Lock it up somewhere for all I care. I never want to see it again."

Castiel let out sigh, sliding the box into his coat before looking back at me. "You're not the only ones who lost something, Victoria."

"We're not!?" I exploded. "We lost Sam! We lose someone we loved, who loved us back just as much! What did you lose? A brother that hadn't been there your entire life? A brother who hated you and your rest your family? You didn't lose shit. In fact, you gained. You got your wings back. You get to run back to _paradise_ and be in charge. So good for you, get out of my fucking face."

The whole time I spoke, Castiel's eyes grew more guilty, until he looked down. "Victoria-"

"Get out of here, Castiel." I muttered, tears threatening to run down my cheeks.

With once last glance at both Dean and I, the angel disappeared in a flutter of wings.

* * *

 **SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA – DAY**

 **Present**

The wind whipped around me as I sat on the porch, the glass of whiskey gripped tightly in my hand. Thinking back on it now, I'd almost felt bad about the things I'd said to Castiel. Almost.

Hearing a sound from behind, I turned back to see Dean standing in the doorway, watching me, a bottle of beer in his hand. Dean made his way over, sitting down in the chair next to mine with a heavy breath. "Hey."

"Hi." I murmured.

"How are you?"

"Okay. What about you?"

"Fine."

"Dean-"

"What?"

I waited for a moment, trying to decide if I should say something or not. "Dean, you have to know that I've been looking at Bobby's books."

Dean nodded, taking a swig of his beer. "Me too."

"There has to be a way, Dean." I muttered, my voice small. "Someone has to know how to get into that damn cage-"

"Yeah, I thought so, too. But I've been wracking my brain, and you know what I got? Zip. I got fucking nothing, Tori. Nothing." Dean breathed, tears beginning to fill his eyes. "I've read through every goddamn occult book Bobby owns. I found nothing."

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" I asked, allowing the tears to spill down my cheeks.

"I'll tell you." Bobby said gruffly, appearing in the doorway. "You keep your promise."

"What?"

"You go on and live. Like Sam would've wanted.

"How can we pretend to be happy while Sam is rotting away in that fucking cage?" Dean snapped.

"Alright, how are you gonna get him out? What's your plan? Believe me, I've looked over every piece of lore since shit hit the fan, never found one thing. But on some off chance you find a way I don't know about, I'm pretty sure you can't get Sam free without springing Lucifer again, too."

I shook my head. "Bobby."

"Listen to me! Don't let the sacrifice that boy made be for nothing! He did what he did so that the two of you, and everyone else in this damn world, could go on and have a chance at a good life! He wanted you two to be happy, or at least try! He'd want you to get off your asses and make a life for yourselves, not sulk around until you die off, too!"

I nearly flinched back at Bobby's words. Though they were harsh, I knew deep down...he was right. Sam made a sacrifice, something he knew couldn't be undone. We couldn't waste the freedom he'd given us. We had to honor his memory. And if that meant pushing ourselves through this fog to try and be some form of _happy_ , well, we do it for him.

It wouldn't be easy. But we'd do it for him.

* * *

 _ **"Open my eyes for sleepless California."**_

 **I hope you guys liked this first chapter, even though it is short. I may go back and change a few things if I feel the need to, but it won't be anything too intense. If it is, I'll be sure to let you know!**

 **Thanks for reading! Love you guys!**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction **


	2. Dare You to Move

_Welcome to the planet_

 _Welcome to existence_

 _Everyone's here, everyone's here_

 _Everybody's watching you now_

 _Everybody waits for you now_

 _What happens next?_

 _Welcome to the fallout_

 _Welcome to resistance_

 _The tension is here, the tension is here_

 _Between who you are and who you could be_

 _Between how it is and how it should be_

…

 _Maybe redemption has stories to tell_

 _Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell_

 _Where can you run to escape from yourself?_

 _Where you gonna go?_

 _Where you gonna go?_

 _Salvation is here_

 _I dare you to move_

 _I dare you to move_

 _I dare you to lift yourself, to lift yourself up off the floor_

 _I dare you to move_

 _I dare you to move_

 _Like today never happened, today never happened_

 _Today never happened_

 _Today never happened before_

 _ **Switchfoot – Dare You to Move**_

* * *

The sunlight shined into the room from a slit in the curtains covering the single window. I stretched, looking over to see Dean's eyes closed. Every time I woke up the night before, he'd been restless, staring up at the ceiling. I was glad he was finally getting some rest, and quietly moved to rest my head on his chest so I wouldn't wake up. After my night filled with nightmares of watching Sam's eyes turn bright red, I needed the comfort of listening to his heartbeat.

What felt like seconds later, I jumped at the loud sound of a bang on the door, my eyes widening as I shot upright along with Dean, who nearly reached for his gun until he heard Bobby's gruff voice on the other side of the door.

"Get up! We're leaving in ten!"

"Leaving?" I asked Dean, looking over at him with a raised eyebrow.

Dean shrugged. "I have no clue."

"What are you talking about, Bobby?"

"Just get ready!"

Over the past couple weeks or so since our last conversation about Sam, Bobby had been pushy, to put it nicely, constantly handing Dean and I papers with job listings circled in them. I didn't mind, I knew he was just trying to help, to get us to stop thinking about the things we couldn't change.

Eventually, Dean had gotten a job at a garage the next town over, which was not surprising, considering his extensive knowledge about cars. Between looking for a job, I was also searching for a house to possibly rent.

Bobby had no problem with us staying here, he'd told me that multiple times, in his own little way of course. _I ain't sayin' you kids gotta leave because I want you gone, I'm sayin' you kids gotta get your asses out there and start your own damn life._ And I agreed.

That's what Sam wanted us to do. That's what would honor his memory. Not us trying to find ways to break him, and possibly Lucifer out, not us going back to hunting – but for us to have a _normal_ life.

However, it was much easier said than done.

Over the years, Dean and I had saved up some money, both separately and together – to always have just in case of an emergency. There wasn't a whole lot, but we could afford to move out on our own and be comfortable until we both got jobs.

God, I sounded so normal. I'd never worried about that kind of stuff in my life, yet here I was, worrying about that. Which now, to me, seems like the most mundane thing I could be thinking of. Bills.

After getting dressed, Dean and I followed Bobby out to his van, getting in. Every time I ask where we were going or what we were doing, Bobby refused to ask telling me to mind my own damn business. I reminded him that he was taking _me_ somewhere I didn't know about and that makes it my business. He just huffed and kept driving. Dean shrugged, wrapping an arm around me, pulling me to his side in the back bench-style seat of the vehicle.

After about an hour drive away from Sioux Falls, Bobby entered Brookings, South Dakota. I furrowed my brow, sharing a confused look with Dean as Bobby pulled into a small neighborhood, stopping in front of a white two story home, an inviting cherry wood door sitting in between two large windows, a small porch lining the front of it, a cobblestone path leading from the small deck steps to the sidewalk and a two car garage with a storage shed next to it

"Bobby, what's going on?" I asked. "Is something happening here?"

"Get out." Bobby grunted, getting out of the driver side, motioning for Dean and I to follow.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked Dean, who looked just as confused as me.

"Fuck if I know." Dean shrugged before he and I got out of the car, walking up next to Bobby, who stood on the sidewalk, staring up at the home. "What's in there? Demon? Poltergeist? Shapeshifter?"

"Nothing's in there." Bobby said, holding a pair of keys out to Dean. "Here. Go in. The both of you."

"Is this a trap?"

"What? 'Course not!" Bobby exclaimed. Dean grabbed his flask of holy water from his pocket, throwing some on Bobby, who let out an annoyed huff. "I ain't possessed, you idjit!" Bobby spotted Dean reaching for a blade, stopping him by grabbing his wrist. "You slice me, I'll break your neck, boy."

"Okay, okay. Jesus." I huffed, stepping between the two of us.

"You don't want your neighbors seeming you pull out a damn blade, I don't think they'd take to kindly to that." Bobby scolded Dean.

It took a moment for his words to settle in completely, and I furrowed my brow, looking up at Dean, who was staring at Bobby in question. "Wait, neighbors? What?"

"Bobby just tell us what's going on." I said.

"I was trying to surprise you idjits."

"You didn't do what I think you did-"

"I'm old, Vic. Saved up a lot of money by now just in case. Thought it'd be a good time to put it to use." Bobby shrugged.

My eyes darted between him and the beautiful house, my mouth falling open in shock. "Bobby, no-"

"Bobby we can't- we can't let you do that." Dean shook his head.

"Yeah, well, tough, 'cause it's already done. You two just gotta sign the lease."

"Bobby-" I started.

"Why don't you just say thank you and stop trying to ruin an old man's good deed, huh?"

I felt tears spring to my eyes as I looked at Bobby, nearly throwing myself into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Bobby."

After hugging me back, Bobby pulled away, smiling at me, patting my cheek gently. Dean placed a hand on his shoulder. "Bobby-"

"Stop."

"Okay, okay. Thank you. Really." Dean said, hugging Bobby as well, the two men patting each other on the back.

"Let's go look inside, huh?"

Dean and I nodded, allowing Bobby to move in front of us. I lingered behind for a second, pulling in a shaky breath. I couldn't believe this. Dean gently tugged on my hand, shooting me a small smile as we began walking together up the cobblestone path.

Strangely enough, visions of a little blonde-haired boy with hazel eyes and a little dirty blonde-haired girl with bright green eyes running around playing in the front yard ran through my mind. I couldn't help but smile at the thought.

I didn't say anything to Dean though, I didn't want to freak him out anymore than he probably was.

Bobby opened the door, flicking on a light switch. A bright light hanging from the ceiling illuminated the dark hard wood floors and cream colored walls. The room was bare, completely unfurnished. That made me feel a little better. At least that'd be something Dean and I could pay for.

The large staircase was to the right as you entered, leading up to the three bedrooms and two bathrooms. There was another bathroom on the first floor near the laundry room and a large kitchen with a big island in the center. Large sliding doors led out to the fenced in backyard that had small deck attached to it.

"So, do you kids like it?" Bobby asked once we moved back into the living room after inspecting the whole house.

"Bobby, it's beautiful." I smiled, my cheeks still wet with tears.

Dean nodded in agreement, letting out a heavy breath. "Bobby how- how can we repay you? How much was this place?"

"Don't worry about it." Bobby shrugged.

"Bobby." I scolded.

"Well, if you're that worried, Sheriff Mills has some connections. She helped me find it. But I'm not about to give you a dollar amount so _don't_ worry about it. As far as how you can repay me..." Bobby paused, a mixture of sadness and determination coming into his eyes. "Just promise me that the both of you will stay smart, keep yourselves safe and out of trouble."

"Of course."

"What I'm saying is, I don't want to hear that either of you wound up dead. That's how you can repay me. Keep yourselves alive."

"Yes, sir." Dean said, I nodded. Bobby pulled in a deep breath, looking around the room. I hugged him again, tighter this time. "You have no idea how much this means, Bobby. Thank you."

"Family looks out for each other. That's all I'm doing." Bobby said. "You kids are finally gonna have the live you deserve. I wanted to help you get there."

* * *

Even though the next week was filled with Dean and I doing normal things, like him beginning work and me going to stores with Jody to pick out furniture, I couldn't seem to get over the shock of it all and I felt it every single time.

Strangely, I'd never felt more out of place in my life than when I was walking through that furniture store. Thankfully Jody was there, she pulled me out of my funk a couple times by asking what shades of _brown_ I wanted the hallway runner and area rugs to be.

After ordering everything we took a weekend to move it all into the house, and by Sunday night, we were finally done. It seemed as though Dean and I were trying o get Jody and Bobby to stay for a long as possible, offering for them to have dinner with us, which was take out. I was in no condition to cook after all the lifting we'd done.

But once they both left, Dean and I were alone. Which was never a bad thing. But there was something so strange about being alone in our own home. A place that should feel safe and happy just felt...weird. I sat on the couch, playing with the ends of my hair. Dean came into the living room, handing me a glass of wine.

"Wine?" I asked, rising an eyebrow at him.

"Hey, it's a special occasion." Dean smiled. For some reason, he seemed so okay with all this. Much more okay than I thought he'd be. And much more okay than I was.

"Yeah."

Dean placed a kiss on my temple, allowing his hand to run across my stomach as his lips trailed down my neck. I looked over to his eyes, a gleam shining there that I hadn't seen in some time. I smiled, kissing him deeply. We kept that going for a moment until Dean pulled back, resting his forehead against mine.

"Marry me." Dean breathed suddenly, catching me off guard.

My eyes snapped open and I stared at him in slight confusion. "What?"

"Right now. Marry me."

"...what?"

"Legally, we're both dead. It's not like we could get an actual marriage certificate. And I know you well enough to know you wouldn't want to make a big deal out of it. You wouldn't want a lot of fanfare." Dean said. He was completely right, of course. If I ever thought about having a wedding, I wanted some private and quiet.

"No, I wouldn't."

Dean nodded, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a small box, opening it to reveal two silver bands, one thicker than the other. "So what do you say, Cherry Pie? Marry me, right here, right now."

I couldn't believe what I was seeing, staring down at the rings in shock. For a moment, I'd forgotten all of my fears, all of our troubles, all of our worries and heartache as I smiled down at Dean with a nod, the tears beginning to slip down my cheeks.

A big smile spread across Dean's lips as he took out the thinner band, leaving me with the thicker one. "I don't know what I'm doing here, really so I'm just gonna...say what I feel."

"Okay." I sniffled, still smiling.

"I mean, I don't even know where to begin. Other than you say that I have no idea how in the hell you've put up with me for this long. You're strong, you keep me level headed. You keep me sane. You're it for me. You know, when we were younger, and even now, whenever I picture myself happy – whether that means living some apple pie life, or living on the road – it's with you. Always has been, always will be."

"Wow." I breathed, my heart beating fast. I knew this Dean, he was always there with me, but to see him in full affect, well, it was always pretty breath taking. I was so frazzled, I could barely think.

"Your turn." Dean smiled, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. "If you want to, that is."

"Of course I do. You- you are the _best_ man I've ever known, Dean Winchester." I muttered, letting the words pour from my heart as I stared into his eyes. "You're good, and sweet, and loving, and gentle and smart, no matter how much you might try to think otherwise. You saved me. You saved me so many times. Whenever I'd have nightmares, all I'd have to do was be near you and they'd go away. You helped me be brave. You helped me become stronger. I love you for that. I love you for everything you are. I love you with every fiber of my being, and that will _never_ stop."

"So we'll be together ' _til death do us part_?" Dean asked with a small smile. I nearly chuckled at that, thinking about how many times we'd died and come back.

"If it can." I muttered. Dean grinned.

"I swear, I will do my best to make you as happy as possible every single day of our lives." Dean said, placing the silver band on my ring finger right below Mary's.

"Ditto." I smiled, shooting him a wink before sliding the ring on his finger. "I love you."

"Ditto." Dean grinned, staring down at the rings for a moment before pulling my lips to his, kissing me passionately, his hands sliding down my body. "So, Mrs. Winchester, how about we take our time and christen every single room in this place?"

My heart fluttered hearing him call me that and I couldn't help but smile against his lips. "I think that I sounds amazing."

Dean stood, scooping me up in his arms. I chuckled, wrapping my arms around his neck as he carried me up to our bedroom, pushing the door open with his backside, gently sitting me down on the foot of the large, plush bed. Dean tilted my head up with one of his fingers, placing another loving kiss on my lips. I immediately melted into him all over again, running my fingers through his hair as he slowly moved, gently guiding me on my back so he was hovering above me, his lips still pressed against mine.

All my emotions seemed to become scrambled and I nearly felt like I was about to cry as he ran a hand down my side, holding onto my hip, sliding his lips down my throat.

"I love you." I muttered shakily. Dean immediately noticed my tone, looking up at me in worry, so I quickly smiled. "No, no, I'm okay. I'm just- I just- I do, I love you so much."

"I love you too, Cherry Pie." Dean murmured, his lips touching mine as gently as a feather, his hand sliding down my stomach until his fingertips reached my center. I whimpered, closing my eyes in pleasure.

After what only felt like a few seconds, Dean pulled away, a small smile on his face as he sat back up on his knees, pulling his shirt over his head, tossing it onto the floor before helping me do the same with my own. I unclasped my bra, throwing onto the small pile. Dean began kissing my chest, his lips trailing over my bare breasts. I shuttered, a chill running down my spine as he did so.

"Oh, baby." I breathed, running my hands down his back as he moved down my stomach, stopping below my belly button to pull my panties and shorts off in one swoop.

I bit my lip, watching him with baited breath as he spread my legs apart, placing gentle kisses on the inside of my thighs until he was right at my center. I moaned at the contact, my eyes fluttering shut, my hands clutching the sheets beneath them.

Just as I was about to come undone, Dean stopped. I let out a frustrated whine, looking up to see him smiling as he stood, unbuttoning his jeans, pushing them down. I moved to my knees on the bed in front of him, wrapping a hand around him base before taking him into my mouth, my tongue trailing up and down his length. Dean moaned in pleasure, the sound vibrating through his entire body. He ran his fingers through my hair, gently holding it in a ponytail at the base of my neck.

Not before long, Dean gently pulled back, his eyes telling me that if I did what I was doing much longer, we would have time for anything else. Most of the time Dean could last for what felt like forever, but I knew just how to make him go crazy.

I smiled up at him as he bent down, kissing me deeply, the both of us moving back onto the bed. I wrapped my legs around Dean's hips as he settled into me, nearly all of him filling me. I pulled in a sharp breath at the feeling, moaning as he began rocking back and forth, his chest rising and falling against mine with every thrust.

Like normal, it didn't take long for the rubber band in my stomach to snap, my orgasm taking over my entire body. Dean sped up his moments as I came, making my pleasure even more intense. He slowed slightly as my orgasm drifted away, knowing I was more sensitive now.

But I knew Dean wasn't done yet, so with a smirk I pushed him onto his back, guiding him inside once again me as I straddled his hips, resting my hands on his chest so I could began to rock back and forth, moving faster each time.

Dean threw his head back, letting out a groan of pleasure, holding onto my hips tightly. "God, you feel so fucking good, baby girl."

I couldn't help but feel a rush of pride at that, grinding against him a little harder until he began breathing even heavier than before, moving his hips to meet my thrusts. Just as I felt him begin to spill inside of me, I came again, absentmindedly digging my nails into his chest in pleasure.

Once we'd both come down, I leaned forward, swallowing hard as I rested my forehead on his chest. Dean ran his hands up and down my back, placing a loving kiss on the side of my neck. I let out a breath, smiling into his chest.

"One room down, ten to go." Dean muttered. "It's gonna be a long night."

"But one hell of a good honeymoon." I said, looking up at him with a big smile, which he returned before pulling me back down for another kiss, spending the rest of the night pleasuring each other over and over again in as many ways as we possibly could.

We didn't need a big wedding, or an expensive trip somewhere for a honeymoon. As cheesy as it may sound, to get through pain, to get through sadness, to have happiness, all we needed was each other. And that's exactly what we got. And it was perfect.

* * *

 **Awwwwwwwwwwww** **Mr. and Mrs. Winchester xD**

 **There will be one or two more original chapters before _Exile on Main St._ , so I hope you're liking them! Drop a review and let me know what you think so far! **

**As always, thanks for reading! You guys are great!**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79**

 **Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction**


	3. Proof

_I'll get in my car  
Drive it faster than I ever did before  
Head out west until I finally reach the shore  
And then I'll swim out to wherever you are  
And we'll ride the undercurrent down to the floor  
Making friends with all the unfamiliar creatures  
And pushing back all the unnecessary pressure  
Come up for air just so you know we won't drown  
You're so strong  
The world can't keep us down  
_…

 _Now do you love me?  
All you gotta do is say yes  
Now do you love me?  
Then you've already proved it_

 _Baby, if I'm half the man I say I am_  
 _If I'm a woman with no fear just like I claim I am_  
 _Then I'll believe in what you say, there's nothing left for you to do_  
 _The only proof that I need_  
 _Baby, if I'm half the man I say I am_  
 _If I'm a woman with no fear just like I claim I am_  
 _Then I'll believe in what you say, there's nothing left for you to do_  
 _The only proof that I need is you_

 _ **Paramore – Proof**_

* * *

The days seemed to fly by since we'd gotten settled into our house. At first we'd both been shaky, not sure exactly how to do all of this stuff. Dean seemed to warm up to it a lot faster than I did, but I followed suit eventually with his help and reassurance that I could do this, they _we_ could do this – be normal. Something so simple made us so worried.

Every since I'd gotten a job at one of the local doctor's offices as their receptionist, every morning my alarm went off at seven. I'd hit snooze and roll over into Dean's arms, taking a few minutes to listen to his heart beating. Most of the time he was already awake, placing his lips to mine, his hands sliding down my body until either one of us couldn't take it anymore and started ripping clothes off.

Still, somehow I managed to get to work on time, taking a quick shower, resisting the urge to take Dean up on his suggestion of us both taking a shower together. If that happened, I'd definitely never leave. I'd throw on some mascara, a pair of jeans and a blouse, and I was out the door. Dean usually got up in the time I was getting ready, making me some coffee before I left considering he didn't have to leave for work until about ten.

On my way to my little blue car, I passed Dean's pick-up truck. For a while Dean had driven the Impala, until Jay, the man who owned the shop he worked at told him he could take the trunk and if he wanted to try and fix it up, he could keep it. Something he did with ease.

Now the Impala sat quietly in the garage underneath a cover, collecting dust.

Months before Dean had gotten his truck, I'd gotten my car. I still remember the day Bobby came over, upset when he'd seen the little blue car in our driveway. He'd wanted to give me one of the cars he'd just fixed up recently, but I politely, yet very sternly, declined. He'd done enough already. I appreciated it, and told him so.

Anything else Dean and I needed, we had to get ourselves.

So the car payments for my Ford were added to our bills. Which by the way, we _had_ bills. Dean and I cooked dinner together just about every night, except for the times when he stayed around the shop later, went out for a beer with Sid, or I went out with Kim, Sid's wife, or Marcy, one of the nurses that I'd become friends with. Sometimes Dean and I would go out to dinner with Sid and Kim.

But the night's Dean and I stayed in, after eating, we washed dishes together, we watched TV. We took baths and drank wine. We made love on the couch, on the kitchen counters, in the shower – wherever, whenever.

Life was different and scary...and perfect. All except for one thing. Sam.

Sam deserved a life like this, too. A life he wanted, where he was happy. A life where him and his wife would drop their kids over at mine and Dean's house so we could babysit them while they got a night to themselves. One where we all spent holiday's and birthdays together. Or spend time together just because we missed each other.

But that couldn't happen. Because even after all this time, there was nothing we could do. We couldn't save Sam. And we hadn't heard from Cas in months. The angels were no hope. Demons were no hope. The ringing in my ears was there, but quiet and distant. Barely any angels had touched earth and I could feel it. Somehow, I could tell. I hadn't felt nauseous. It's supernatural creatures were avoiding us like the plague.

There were a few times when a patient would come into the doctor's office with strange injured or weird complaints, but I forced myself to ignore it, even though everything inside was telling me to figure it out, to help them. But I couldn't. That wasn't our life anymore. We hadn't hunted in eleven months.

Eleven months. I kept track of every passing day. It's almost an entire year that Sam's been gone. It never got easier to think about, and I never stopped thinking about him, I know Dean didn't either There were times when I'd look over and see him just staring into thin air, his eyes tearing up. I knew in that moment he was thinking about Sam because the same thing happened to me on many occasions.

Tonight I was left alone with my thoughts longer than usual because Dean had gone out to the bar with a couple of his friends. I let out a heavy sigh, placing the last dish in the dishwasher, rising my hands off. I was in my own little world when I felt hands touch my hips. I jumped about ready to start throwing punches when Dean gripped my my wrists, stilling me.

"Whoa, Slugger." Dean grinned, running his hands up my arms when I let them drop to my side.

"You scared me." I murmured, glancing over at the clock, seeing that it was only ten. "You're home earlier than I thought you'd be. How was your night?"

"It was okay."

"Just okay?"

Dean smiled, pulling me against him. "I wanted to get home to my baby."

I smiled back at him as he brought his lips to mine, kissing me passionately. I wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. Before I knew it, we were on the couch, our clothes scattered around the living room floor as I straddled Dean's lap, my hips moving with him deep inside of me, his hands on my waist, his nails digging into my flesh.

We spent the rest of the night making love until we both passed out on the couch. I woke up the next morning with a warm blanket covering me, the cold air from outside seeping into the walls, the smell of eggs cooking in the kitchen and the sound of Dean singing along to the radio.

My stomach churned as I sat up, making sure to keep the blanket wrapped around me. Suddenly, I felt bile rise in my throat and ran into the downstairs bathroom, emptying my stomach. Once I was done, I flushed the toilet, sure Dean didn't hear me getting sick, otherwise he would have been in here in a second. I listened at the closed bathroom door, still hearing the radio blasting, _Sweet Child O' Mine_ playing loudly through the house. I let out a heavy breath, moving back to the sick, looking at myself in the mirror.

This was the third week in a row that I'd gotten sick almost every day. The slightest smell made my stomach churn and I couldn't keep it down. I wondered what was wrong, but something inside told me exactly why this was happening. Deep down, I knew exactly what it was.

But still, I was too afraid to get a test. Even though I knew I had to. I was too afraid to go to the doctor, even though I knew I had to. And most of all, I was too afraid to tell Dean...even though I knew I had to.

Swallowing hard, I placed my hand on my stomach, my heart constricting. I pulled in a heavy breath before heading back out into the kitchen, once again putting off what I knew I had to do. if I could. I didn't want to let myself believe it, out of worry or fear or something else entirely. I wasn't sure. But I'd put it off forever if I could.

* * *

 **Uh-oh...**

 **If you guys want more details on Dean and Tori's year, let me know and I'll try to post a story dedicated only to that! Either way, a certain familiar face will be back in the next chapter, but I'm sure you guys have no clue who it is... ;)**

 **Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it! Drop a review and let me know :D**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
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	4. Exile on Main St

_I had a dream that we were dead  
But we pretend that we still lived  
With no regrets, we never bled  
And we took everything life could give  
And came up broken, empty handed in the end  
_… _..._

 _Had a dream that fire fell  
From an opening in the sky  
And someone warned me of this hell  
And I spit in his naive eye  
And left him crying for my soul he said would die  
In the hearts of the blind, something you'll never find  
Is a vision of light  
With the voice of the dead, I'm screaming  
_… _..._

 _I don't know who I am anymore  
Not once in life have I been real  
But I've never felt this close before  
I've been looking in your window  
I've been dressing in your clothes  
I've been walking dead  
Watching you  
Long enough to know I can't go on_

 _ **Flyleaf – This Close**_

* * *

Even though I'd somehow managed to keep Dean from finding out about me getting sick, I knew I wouldn't be able to for long. At some point we would be out somewhere and I'd get sick and he'd start asking enough questions to make my head spin, rightfully so. Or worse he'd take me to the doctor. And I'd have no choice but to tell him I'd known all this time and didn't say anything.

I knew he wouldn't be mad. Hell, I even thought he'd be happy. Still, there was something nagging at the back of my head, stopping me every time. But not today.

This morning Dean had gone to take the garbage out, and while he was outside, I resolved myself to the fact that I was going to the store, I was going to get a pregnancy test, I was going to confirm what I already knew to be true and I was going to tell him. Come hell or high water, he was going to find out today.

After pulling in a deep breath, I threw my hair up in a ponytail, changing into a tank top and some jeans and a pair of sneakers. As I pulled on my jacket by the front door, it dawned on me that I had no reason for going to the store. And while I was definitely going to tell Dean today, I wanted to have the pregnancy test over and done with just to be absolutely sure.

I quickly ran back to the kitchen, taking the nearly full half gallon of milk out of the refrigerator, dumping it down the drain just as Dean came back inside, looking surprised to see me there.

"Well, good morning Cherry Pie." He smiled.

"Morning, baby." I replied, forcing a smile on my face, trying to break through the crippling nervousness I felt.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked, furrowing my brow as he looked at the bottle in my hands. "What-"

"We don't have milk. I was gonna run to the store and get some."

"Babe, it's nine in the morning Saturday. Don't worry about it, go back to sleep."

"I'm up, I just figured I might as well. Plus when I get back I can make waffles then." I smiled, seeing him debate whether or not the waffles were more important than me getting a few more hours of sleep. I walked over to him, placing a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be back in a little bit, okay?"

"Okay." Dean nodded, kissing my forehead.

* * *

Once at the store, I kept looking over my shoulder, feeling like someone was watching me. I thought back a few years ago when I was doing this same thing, making my way down the isles until I got to the pregnancy tests, carefully plucking one off the shelf.

It was then I remembered the man I'd run into at the store. It all made sense now. Even then Castiel was watching me, he never stopped. He said he hadn't been down to earth in years, but that was clearly a lie.

 _Everything will be as it should_ , he'd said.

Thinking back on that now, I scoffed. What bullshit.

* * *

DPOV

After Tori left, I headed into the garage, aimlessly re-organizing things that didn't need to be re-organized. All I could do was think about her. She was acting really, really strange lately – jumpy. I wanted to ask her, but I didn't want to make things worse.

I knew what happened with Sam still bothered her, it still bothered me. I couldn't stop worrying about him no matter how much I tried to just get on with life like he wanted me to. But it wasn't easy. There were so many times that I'd picked up a trail, fighting every urge to hunt whatever it was. But I always thought back to Tori, I couldn't do that to her. I couldn't get us involved with that again, not if we actually got out. She deserved to be happy, she didn't deserve a hunter's life.

A cold chill ran through me as I felt a presence behind me, turning around to see Azazel standing there, smirking at me. "Hiya, Dean. Look what the apocalypse shook loose. You have fun sniffing that trail? 'Cause I sure had fun patting you around."

"You can't be..." I trailed off, looking at him in shock.

"Oh, sure I can!"

"No."

"Yeah, kiddo. The big daddy brought your pal Cas back, right? So why not me? Add a little spice to all that sugar. Speaking of sugar...how's your little angel doing? She still taste just sweet as before?" Azazel asked, cocking an eyebrow as I sneered. "You know, I never really told you this, but what I wouldn't do to have a nice, long night with her. Just like I did with your mommy."

"You motherfucker-" I hissed, pulling out the gun I'd taken from the attic, shooting him in the chest.

"Really? After all we've been through together? You know, you got a great little life here. Beautiful woman, real understanding of all your fuck up's. How do you keep your lawn so green? I mean, come on, Dean. You never been what I'd call brainy, but did you really think you were gonna get to keep all of this? You had to know that we were coming for you sometime, pal. You can't outrun your past."

With every word, Azazel stepped closer until his hands were around my throat, I felt the air leaving my lungs and everything went back.

* * *

TPOV

After a stress-filed ride home, I pulled into the driveway, getting out of the car, making my way to the front door, unlocking it.

"Dean? Baby?" I called as I headed into the kitchen to put the milk away, finding a note stuck to the fridge.

 _Went over to Tim's to help fix something, be back soon._

 _\- Dean_

A feeling of relief washed through me then. I was alone. Hopefully Dean would be at the neighbors for at least a half hour so I didn't have to worry about dodging him. I could just do what I had to do.

Plucking the pregnancy test from the bag, I made my way into the bathroom, taking in a few deep breaths before taking the test out of the box, scanning over the instructions quickly before stuffing them back in the garbage. I did what I had to, placed the test on the counter on a tissue, wash my hands… and then the waiting began.

When the ten minutes was up, I took another deep breath, holding it as I held up the stick, my heart both dropping into my stomach and soaring at the same exact time. Positive. It was positive. I pulled the second test I got just to be sure, did it again and had the same reaction. Positive.

The tears filled my eyes as I breathed heavily, shocked. I didn't even know how this happened, I took birth control, but it was real, I was pregnant.

* * *

DPOV

My eyes fluttered open to a dark room, some sunlight shining through the various slits in the curtains that hung on the wall. Out of the corer of my eye, I saw something move, looking up to see...Sam standing there, staring down at me. I stared back blankly.

"Hey, Dean. I was expecting, uh, I don't know, a hug, some holy water in the face – something." Sam muttered.

"So I'm dead, right? This is heaven? Yellow Eyes killed me, and now-" I paused, thinking of Tori. When she gets back, she's next. No… "Tori-"

"Wait, Yellow Eyes?"

"Yeah and he's gonna kill Tori-"

"Yellow Eyes? That's what you saw?"

"Wait, _saw_?" I asked.

"You were poisoned. So whatever kind of crazy shit you think you been seeing, it's not real."

"So then...are you real? Or am I still-"

"I'm real. Here, let me save you the trouble." Sam said, cutting himself with a silver blade with no reaction before pouring some salt into a jug of water, drinking some of it, grimacing. "That's nasty."

Tears involuntarily welled up in my eyes as I looked up at my little brother. "Sammy?"

"Yeah, it's me." Sam nodded. Without hesitation, I hugged him, pulling back a moment later.

"Wait a minute. You were - you were gone, man. I mean, that was it. How the hell are you-"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean, no idea. I-I'm just back."

"Well, was it God, or Cas? I mean, does Cas know anything about it?"

"You tell me. I've been calling. Cas hasn't answered my prayers. I don't even know where he is. I mean, I was... down there, and then, next minute, it's raining, and I'm lying in that field, alone. It's kind of hard to go looking for whatever saved you when you got no leads. But I looked. I mean, believe me, I looked... for weeks."

"Wait, weeks? How long have you been back, Sam?"

Sam glanced down before looking back up at me. "About a year."

" _About a year_!?" I exploded, angry. "You've been back practically this whole time?! What, did you lose the ability to send a fucking text message?!"

"You and Tori finally had what you wanted."

"We wanted you alive, Sam!"

"You wanted a normal life. You have for a long time, maybe the whole time. I know you. You only gave it up because of the way we lived. But you and Tori, you had something, and you were building something. Had I shown up, the both of you would have just run off. I'm sorry. But it felt like after everything, you guys deserve some regular life."

I paused a moment, finding it hard to argue with him there. Despite thoughts of him invading my mind, this past year had been one of the best. "What have you been doing?"

"Hunting."

"You were flying solo?"

"Not solo."

"What?"

"I hooked up with some other people."

"You? Working with strangers?"

"They're more like family. And they're here." Sam said, leading me into an adjoining room where a few people, two men and one woman, stood.

"Hey." The girl smiled.

"Hi." I nodded.

"My God, you have delicate features for a hunter."

"Excuse me?"

"Dean, Gwen Campbell." Sam introduced.

"Good to finally meet you." Gwen said. "Sam's gone on and on."

"And this is Christian... and Mark. Campbell."

"Campbell?" I asked, looking to Sam. "Like-"

"Like your mom." Christian said.

"Third cousins." Sam said, pointing to Gwen and Christian before pointing to Mark. "Something, something twice removed. They grew up in the life, like Mom and like us."

"I thought all of Mom's relatives were gone. And I'm sorry. It's just, you know, why didn't we know about any of you?" I asked.

"'Cause they didn't know about you. Not until I brought you all together." A low voice spoke from one of the other rooms, stepping out into view.

"Samuel?"

"Guys, give me a second with my grandsons here, please." Samuel said. Mark, Christian and Gwen left, leaving Sam and I alone with our...grandfather. "Lot of resurrections in your face today. It's all right. Take a minute."

"It's gonna take a little more than a minute. I mean, what the hell? H-how did this happen?"

"We're guessing whatever pulled Sam up pulled me down. So, whatever this is, we're both a part of it."

"But you don't know what that is."

"Bingo."

"And you have no leads? Nothing?" I asked, seeing them shake their heads. "Well, this- this is, uh...no more doornails coming out of that door, is there?"

"As far as we know, it's Samuel, and it's me." Sam shrugged.

"Okay, am I the only one here that- that- that thinks that this can't all just be fine?"

Samuel shook his head. "Believe me, you're not. I wanted to come get you, of course. Sam was adamant about leaving you out, so we did. Until this."

"Right. So, then you ended up in my garage how?" I asked Sam.

"I got hit before you did, few days ago." Sam replied. "Dosed up with poison."

"By?"

"A couple of djinn."

"Djinn? I thought those were cave-dwelling hermit-type. That's pretty exotic."

"Not anymore, at least. These...look like regular people. They can blend in. And all they got to do to kill you is touch you. Their toxins get in your system, all of a sudden you're hallucinating your worst nightmares, and pretty soon you O.D."

"Well, then how are you breathing air?"

"Samuel had a cure."

I raised an eyebrow, looking to Samuel. "You got a cure for djinn poison?"

"Oh, I know a few things. Stick around, I'll show you tricks your daddy never even dreamed of." Samuel muttered.

"Uh, okay." I mumbled, looking away. "So why are these things after us?"

"Well, you did stake one a while back."

"After they came after me, we were pretty certain that they were gonna go gunning for you and Tori next."

"Oh my god, Tori." I breathed, fear filling me instantly. "She's got to be back by now, if that thing comes back and catches her off guard-"

"It's alright." Samuel said. "I already sent someone over there to watch her."

"You got to take me home right now." I said fiercely.

* * *

TPOV

After taking a bath to calm myself down and cleaning up the bathroom, I headed back out into the kitchen, seeing my phone screen light up. I grabbed it, reading that I had about five missed calls from Dean. Before I could call him back, the front door slammed open. I looked to see a worried Dean running in, and before I could even say a word, he pulled me into his arms.

"Um, hi." I mumbled into his chest.

"Where the hell were you?" Dean asked, holding the tops of my arms.

"At the store, you knew that. You were gone when I came back. I read your note, so-"

"Note? What note?"

"The note you left. Dean, listen, I-" I let out a heavy breath. "I have something to tell you."

"Tori-"

"This is important. I've seen psyching myself up for this for the past hour-"

"You can tell me later."

"Maybe I can, but I don't want to. Dean, I just-" I swallowed, deciding to bite the bullet. "Dean, I'm-" My voice caught in my throat as I looked over Dean's shoulder at who had just walked in. My chest heaved and constricted at the sight of him in the doorway, my mouth dropping open in surprise and shock. "Sam?"

"Hi Tori." He muttered.

"Wh-"

"I'm back."

"Are you, you?" I asked, looking to Dean.

"He's him, trust me. Baby, listen, we- we have to go." Dean said, trying to pull me towards the front door.

"How? Wait, what is going on?"

"We-"

"What the hell is going on?" I snapped, breaking out of his grasp. "Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to Bobby's."

"Why?"

"Djinn. They're here, they're coming for us."

"Wh- what?"

"Just let me take care of this and then I'll come get you-" Dean muttered, looking at me with sad eyes. "I'm sorry."

With that I fell numb, letting him pull me outside as my mind ran a mile a minute, tears filling my eyes. Sam watched me, placing a hand on my shoulder as we went.

Djinn? We hadn't dealt with anything in a year. There wasn't anything- oh god. The baby. How would we…? How could we…? But Dean didn't even know and I couldn't tell him now. If I did he'd make go to Bobby's and I- no. I need to be with him.

Standing by a car outside was three people I didn't recognize and Sam and Dean's grandfather. I looked at him with wide eyes, glancing back to Dean with the same expression. He swallowed hard. I just stared in shock, feeling my hands shaking.

"He's back, too." Dean mumbled.

"My god. You look just like Elizabeth." Samuel watched me, shaking his head before looking to Dean, then back to me. "We need to get you out of here."

"Why?" I asked.

"You're a mess, for one. We need to get rid of this Djinn before it hurts somebody else-"

"I know what I'm doing." I said, my voice hard. If there was one thing I hated, it was being underestimated. So, I pulled in a deep breath, forcing myself to stop shaking, looking over at Dean. I won't let this monsters just burst into our lives and take away everything...not now. "What's the plan?"

"Take you to Bobby's." Dean said.

"I'm not going to Bobby's. I want these things out of here. So, what's the plan?"

"Well, right now, we stock up, get set." One of the two men I didn't recognize said.

"So there is no plan."

"We'll find 'em. Just got to be patient."

"Yeah, okay. Here's an idea. Why don't we go kill the assholes that broke into our home?"

"Relax, Tori. We got it handled."

"And who are you, exactly?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. This guy was already getting on my nerves.

"Christian. Sam and Dean's cousin."

" _Cousin_?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah. So is Gwen. And Mark. They're Campbells."

"Campbells? Like- like-"

"Mary Campbell, yeah." Christian said. "Listen, Djinn are hard to draw out. Now, the two of you have been out of the game for a while. Why don't you go and leave it to the professionals."

Dean glared at him, taking step in front of me. "Tiny suggestion. You see, djinn are easier to draw out when you got bait. They want me, Sam and Tori. They know where we live. Now, I haven't been hunting in a while, but I'm gonna stick my neck out and guess that here's a pretty good place for us to go. See? It's almost like I'm a _professional_."

Back inside the house, Gwen picked up one of the books on the table, examining it. Mark took a framed picture of Dean and I that Kim had taken while we were over at their house for the forth of July, staring at it.

I took it from him, placing it back down. "How about you don't touch our stuff, okay?"

Mark put his hands up, stepping away from me. I glanced over at Sam, seeing that he'd picked up a golf magazine, looking to Dean and I with a raised eyebrow. "Golf? Really?"

"What? It's sport." Dean defended.

"Nice house you two got." Samuel said as everyone moved through the house, staying back in the living room with me, the both of us alone.

"Oh, yeah. Go ahead, say it. Call me a soccer mom. Whatever." I shrugged.

" _Soccer mom_ , huh? Well, I'll have to look that up on the _intranet_."

"You think I can do this."

"No."

"Oh, yeah?"

"You know, believe it or not, I get it. You wanted a normal life. Your mom wanted a normal life, too. Like Mary. She wouldn't have admitted it, but I could tell. You remind me of her. A lot. Especially with the attitude, for one. Do you know what's been going on the past few months?"

"No. Not really."

"I've never seen anything quite like it. Been working 'round the clock."

"So what is it?"

"We don't know. But whatever it is, it goes way past a couple of djinn acting off. Nocturnals attacking in broad daylight, werewolves out on the half-moon, creatures that we've never even seen before. We don't- we don't even know what they are. I'm knee-deep in half-eaten human hearts and exsanguinated 10-year-olds, and it's all making me...uneasy."

"Did you tell Dean all this?"

"Yes.

"And what's your theory?"

"You tell me. All we really know is it's all hands on deck. We're counting on each other right now. That's how it is with Campbells. We need you and Dean."

I shook my head, thinking about the baby. "Look, I hear you, but-"

"You don't know what you're part of."

"Believe me, I do." I said, seeing him raise an eyebrow. "My grandmother, Julia. She was a hunter. Her entire family was. That's how you and Deanna knew her, right?"

"Yes. And we raised Lizzie. She was like a daughter to me. What I'm saying is that we're Sam and Dean's blood. We're your family. And we're out there dying, trying to get in front of whatever this is. Maybe not the best time for golf."

"You think that's all this is? It's more than that. So much more." I muttered with a scoff, turning away from him, leaving the room.

* * *

Not too long after, we had somewhat of a plan set in place. Mark was outside in his truck, watching for all the Djinn. And, apparently, there were four waiting in the trees.

"Those djinn are just sitting out there, watching us." Dean muttered, looking back to the group that had gathered in the living room. "Everybody's got to clear out."

"What?" Christian asked.

"They're not gonna come in here until me and Sam are alone."

"You and Sam?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Tori, please. Just leave with everyone else."

"You know they probably want me too, right? Whose to say they'll come if it's just you and Sam? I'm staying, Dean."

Dean stared into my eyes for a moment, seeing that I wasn't about to change my mind, he looked to the ground with a sigh. "Fine. The three of us will stay."

"So, what, I'm supposed to leave you here with no backup?" Samuel asked.

"Dean's right. So is Tori." Sam said. "They'd wait till they weren't outnumbered."

"Alright, we won't be far. You call when they come, you hear? We're out of here."

Samuel and the three others all packed up their weapons and left, leaving Sam, Dean and I all alone in the house. We stood around the kitchen, leaning against the island in the middle.

"You okay?" Sam asked me quietly.

"Oh, sure." I mumbled sarcastically, shooting him a look. "Sam how- how in the hell are you out?"

"I have no idea."

"What do you mean?"

"It was just like- like one second I was there and then the next-"

"So you don't remember anything? From the cage?" I pressed, not buying what he was selling.

"No, I do."

Dean looked up at his brother. "Do you want to-"

"No."

"Well, if anybody can relate..."

"Dean, I don't want to talk about it. I'm back. I get to breathe fresh air, have a beer, hunt with my family, see you guys again. So why exactly would I want to think about Hell?"

"I just don't understand. You, Saumel?" I asked. "Why here and now?"

"Well, it's been longer than just _now_..." Sam trailed off.

"What does that mean?"

"I've been- I've been back for a year."

"A year!?"

"Yeah."

Feeling anger rush through me, I slapped him hard on the arm, gritting my teeth. "What the fuck is wrong with you!? Why didn't you tell us!?"

"I wanted you guys to have the life you deserved."

"A life that was tainted by worrying and thinking about you every single day!"

"I- I'm sorry."

"You don't sound sorry." I muttered, narrowing my eyes at him. Sam raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side slightly, a strange look in his eyes.

"Holy shit." Dean breathed, staring out of the window with open eyes, darting towards the door. I followed his gaze seeing Sid and Kim being attacked in their living room.

"No!"

"They're already dead, and you know it!" Sam called out as we ran, ignoring him.

As soon as I entered the house, I felt someone grab me from behind. "It's time for you to go."

Suddenly, I looked down, seeing a small boy and girl both standing next to me. "Mommy?"

"No..." I whispered, looking at them with sad eyes. Dean stood next to me, the same look of worry on his face.

Suddenly, Lucifer appeared, his eyes glowing red as he ripped them away from me. "Hiya Vicki. I'm gonna need to borrow them real quick."

Just as I tried to take them back, a demon grabbed me from behind, restraining me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another one grab Dean, who struggled to get free. "Let me go you son of a bitch!"

"No!" I cried, seeing Castiel appear in the corner of the room. "Cas! Casl, help, please!"

"I can't, Victoria." The angel replied.

"Stop!" I shouted, kicking against the demon's grip as Lucifer tightened his on the scared children. The demon that was retraining Dean pulled out a long blade, running it across his throat, blood spilling out. "No!"

"Listen, Vicki, you brought this on yourself. You should've helped me while you had the chance. This is just what needs to happen now."

"No!" I screamed as he disappeared from view, taking the two with him, the sound of Dean's body hitting the ground with a thud.

* * *

DPOV

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the Djinn grab Tori by the shoulders, but before I could do anything, someone wrapped their hand around my neck. "You made it through that last trip, so how about a big, fat double dose? Bad news, it'll kill you. The good news? At least you'll go fast. That's for our father, you son of a bitch."

Suddenly, Tori was standing in front of me, Azazel behind her, his hands resting on her hips, his lips on her neck. She looked at me, the light draining from her fear-filled eyes, turning them dead. "Dean..."

"Don't worry, sweetheart." Azazel cooed in her ear. "Everything's gonna be just fine."

"Let her go you son of a bitch." I hissed.

"I don't think so. I'm having too much fun." He smiled, running his hands across her stomach, underneath her chest. With gritted teeth, I lunged towards him, reaching for Tori, when suddenly, with a flick of his wrist, her back was against the wall and she began sliding up towards the ceiling. "There, there, kiddo."

"Stop it! Tori!"

"Dean." She cried, the life and fear returning back into her eyes as she struggled, realizing what was happening "Dean!"

"It's all your fault." Azazel muttered.

"Tori!" I screamed, my voice breaking as she reached the ceiling.

"Dean!" Tori sobbed. "Help me!"

"This, something else...we both know that's details. There's something's coming for this one, and you can't stop it. It's all your fault."

A hot fire burst out around Tori on the ceiling, the flame engulfing her as she let out blood curdling screams that shook me to my core. "No!"

TPOV

After what felt like an eternity of darkness, my eyes fluttered open and I looked around, seeing that I was lying on the couch in mine and Dean's living room.

"Oh, thank god." Dean breathed, walking over to my side.

"Wh= what happened?" I asked.

"You were attacked." Sam said.

"Yeah. But how are we still alive?"

"Samuel knows a cure." Dean said, pulling me in for a tight hug. I couldn't help but hug him back just as tightly, the images of his throat being slit playing through my mind. "I'm just glad you're okay, Cherry Pie."

"Me too. I'm glad you're alright." I muttered into his shoulder.

"Listen, uh, I'm meeting Samuel and everyone else back at their place. You guys coming with me?" Sam asked.

Dean and I shared a look, silently making our decision. Dean shook his head, looking back to his brother. "No. We're staying here."

"I thought you said-"

"I changed my mind."

"Look, I practically shoved you into this."

"That's a weird way to put it." I mumbled.

"I'm just saying, I really wanted this for you. And when I told you to go, I-I thought you could have it, you know? But now I'm not so sure. I mean, you got to consider the fact that you'll be putting yourselves in danger. Any kids you guys might have, they'll be in danger too."

I swallowed hard at Sam's words, stopping myself from placing a hand on my stomach like I instinctively wanted to. Dean just shook his head, taking my hand in his. "They would be anyway. At least this way they won't have to grow up to be what we were. I'm sorry, Sam. We gotta go with the best option.

"I hear you. I guess I just wish you were coming, that's all."

"Why?" I asked.

"Tori." Sam scolded, shaking his head. "You know."

"You know plenty of good hunters. Dean and I have to face it, we're rusty. We both did something seriously stupid back there. Something that almost got us killed. Maybe Samuel was right."

"No. He wasn't. And what you did? That's exactly why I want you."

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.

"You just went. You didn't hesitate. Because you both care, and that's who you are. Me? I wouldn't even think to try."

"Yes, you would."

"No. I'm telling you, it's just better with you around. That's all."

Dean let out a sigh, pulling a set of keys out of his pocket, standing in front of Sam. "Listen, she should be hunting. Take her."

"Thanks. Really. But I already got my car set up how I like it. I should hit the road."

"We'll walk you out." I said, standing up, walking with the boys towards the door. _The boys_. God, it's been a long time since I've said that.

Once we reached the door, Sam moved outside to the porch, watching both Dean and I with a strange expression. "You're sure about this?"

"Yeah, Sammy." Dean nodded. "We're sure."

"Keep in touch, okay?" I asked. "Please?"

"'Course. It was really good to see you again." Sam muttered. With that, he turned and left. Dean and I watched as he got in his car, speeding away.

After everything that happened today, both Dean and I just went to bed, neither one of us sleeping – though we didn't say a word to each other. I couldn't help but think about what Sam had said, how dangerous this life would be for our kids.

I knew that was the truth. So what was I supposed to do?

* * *

 **Poor Soulless Sam... :)**

 **Thanks for reading, I hope you guys liked it! Feel free to let me know :D**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction **


	5. Two and a Half Men

**Let me just start by saying that I know the title of this episode/chapter is very wrong for this story, but I wanted to get this up, so I might change it in the future. Okay? Okay. Onward... ;)**

* * *

 _My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why I got out of bed at all  
The morning rain clouds up my window, and I can't see at all  
And even if I could it'd all be gray, but your picture on my wall  
It reminds me that it's not so bad  
It's not so bad_

 _I drank too much last night, got bills to pay_ _  
_ _My head just feels in pain_  
 _I missed the bus and there'll be hell today_  
 _I'm late for work again_  
 _And even if I'm there, they'll all imply that I might not last the_  
 _day_  
 _And then you call me and it's not so bad_  
 _It's not so bad_

 _Push the door, I'm home at last and I'm soaking through and_  
 _through_  
 _Then you handed me a towel and all I see is you_  
 _And even if my house falls down now, I wouldn't have a clue_  
 _Because you're near me_

 _ **Dido – Thank You**_

* * *

Under Bobby's suggestion, Dean and I sold and packed up our house and moved to Bellwood, Nebraska, yet another small town with only four hundred and nineteen residence. It didn't take long to find a small home to rent, and we were currently in the process of moving boxes inside.

Thankfully in the month it took to get everything done, I wasn't showing at all. Not even in the slightest. I was thankful because I was a coward, too afraid to tell Dean still after all this time had passed. Every time I was about to, I came up with some excuse.

 _He's too tired. I'm too tired. I don't want any monsters to hear._

Honestly, I was getting sick of myself, but at the same time, I couldn't make myself get those two little words out to him, no matter how much I wanted to.

"Babe?" Dean called from behind the garage door that led straight into the kitchen where I was. I opened the door, finding him standing there balancing three boxes on top of each other.

"Oh, Jesus, Dean." I chuckled, taking the two top boxes, placing them on the counter.

"Thanks." Dean smiled, stepping inside, placing a kiss on my cheek as he put the box down. I have to tell him. I have to. It's been long enough. "There are dishes and some glasses in this one. I think those are silverware-"

"Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I- can I tell you something?"

"Sure, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just- Dean, I'm-" I stopped, the sound of Dean's cell phone ringing interrupting me. "Are you gonna answer that?"

"It can wait."

My eyes, darted down to Dean's pocket where his phone sat. Yet again, I'd lost what little courage I'd built up to tell him. With a huff, I reached into his pocket, pulling the phone out, answering it. "Hello?"

" _Tori?_ "

"Sam?"

"Sam?" Dean asked.

"Yeah." I shrugged, putting the phone on speaker. "Hey."

" _Why are you answering- whatever."_ Sam muttered. " _Listen, I need your help. Now._ "

"What's wrong?"

" _I'm working this job..."_

"Dude." Dean huffed.

" _Look, I just need you guys with me on this, okay?_ "

"We're out. We're staying out."

" _Make an exception._ "

"For what?"

" _Look, I'm thirty minutes away and I will drive to your door if you don't meet me._ "

"And what's so nuts that you gotta threaten a damn drive by?"

" _This_." Sam said, the phone rustling until I heard the small coos and cried of a baby. Dean and I shared a surprised look, heading for the truck.

* * *

We drove the half hour to meet Sam, parking a few feet away from his car, walking over to him as the sun set in the sky.

"Where is it?" Dean asked.

"Strapped down in the back seat." Sam said. Dean and I peered over, seeing the baby in a carseat. "Welcome to the party."

"So what do we know about this thing?"

"Well, uh, it was fast and it freaked when I cut it with silver."

"Wait, you cut it?" I asked, surprised. That wasn't like him, this was a kid.

"Well, yeah…"

"A baby?"

"What else was I supposed to do?"

"All you had to do was touch it with silver, you didn't have to cut it."

"I, uh, well I just wanted to be thorough."

Dean shot his brother a look before letting out a breath. "Okay. So if silver doesn't hurt it, that narrows it down to..."

"A ghoul? A zombie, a shifter, or about a dozen other things."

"I don't recall seeing babynapping in the profiles."

"Yeah, exactly." Sam said as the three of us got into the car, Dean in the passenger seat, Sam in the driver seat and me in the back with the baby.

"Well feel free to speak up if you know anything." Dean said, glancing back at the child next to me.

Sam started up the car, the constant dinging alerting him to the lack of locked seat belts. "Seat belts."

"What are we, in third grade? A car should drive, not be a little bitch." Dean complained. The baby let out a cry, passing cas. "Yeah, don't take it personal."

"I think we need to get some supplies." I muttered.

"I've got an arsenal in the trunk." Sam said, looking over shoulder at me.

"Not that kind."

* * *

At the store, the baby was strapped safely into the baby seat in the basket. Sam pushed the cart while Dean and I walked on either side down the baby isle, grabbing a few essentials.

"I'm pretty sure that there's some kind of paste or jelly you're supposed to put on their butt." Dean said, looking through the shelves.

"Like this?" Sam asked, pulling a tube off the shelf, reading it. "Butt-paste?"

"Yeah, grab that."

"We'll definitely need these." I said, grabbing a package of diapers off the shelf.

"How do you know all this?" Sam asked us.

"Well, Sam, it's pretty standard that babies need diapers."

Sam rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "What about everything else? The butt-paste, the formula."

"Our neighbor Tim and his wife just had a daughter. They left her with us a couple times so they could take a break every once and a while."

"So I had to make a coupe milk runs." Dean added.

"Huh." Sam muttered.

"Shut it."

"I just said _huh_."

"I just said _shut it_."

As they fought, the baby started fussing, so I put an end to it. "Guys, come on. We've got waterworks in t-minus ten, it's time to get moving."

"Yeah, okay." Sam nodded.

"Sure." Dean mumbled.

I shot them both looks, raising an eyebrow, pointing down the isle to the registers. "Go."

All of the lines were impossibly long and as we waited at the very end of one, the baby started to fuss even more, whimpering for a couple minutes before full out crying. Everyone around was staring at us, their glares disapproving.

"Make it stop." Sam muttered.

"How?" Dean asked.

"Everyone's staring at us like we're child abusers! Feed it!"

"We fed it!"

"Then what?"

"I don't know. You think I speak baby? Maybe he needs a diaper change."

"My god, I got it." I mumbled, unlatching the straps, pulling the baby out of the carrier and onto my shoulder. He rested his head in the crook of my neck, quickly quieting down as I patted his back, gently bouncing back and forth. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dean staring at me, a small smile on his lips. "What?"

Dean blinked a few times, his eyes refocusing on me. "Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"N- nothing."

"Oh, he is just adorable." An elderly woman in line smiled. "What's his name?"

 _Bobby_. Dean muttered at the same time Sam said, _John_.

"Bobby John." I smiled, internally rolling my eyes.

"Hi, Bobby John. Aren't you handsome? May I?" She grinned, holding her hands towards him, pulling him out of my arms without my permission.

"Oh, well-"

"I see now, Bobby John's a little wet. No offense, you look exhausted. I don't mind. Lord knows I've changed a million diapers."

"That's a really nice offer, thank you, but um... I think we've got it." Dean said, his attitude towards the woman changing in an instant.

"Oh, it's nothing. Happy to help."

"Give me the baby before I stab you in your neck."

"Dean!" Sam called, looking at his brother in shock. Dean pointed up to a security camera feed, the woman's eyes glowing silver in the picture.

Suddenly, the shapeshifter took off, running away with the baby. We abandoned the cart, running after the woman. Dean grabbed at her, but the flesh ripped off her arm. While she was distracted, I grabbed the baby from her, quickly taking him outside. Once there, I looked back in to see Dean on top of the shapeshifter, pulling out his knife.

"Oh, Jesus." I mumbled to myself, watching as the woman screamed and a manager came over, pulling Dean off. Sam grabbed his brother's arm, the both of them rushing out of the store and over to Sam's car, where I was waiting with the baby. Dean jumped in the backseat with me, the both of us trying to get the baby back into his car seat while Sam drove away from the store.

"The hell does a shifter want with a baby, anyway?" Dean asked.

"You tell me." Sam shrugged.

"And how the hell did it find us?" I asked.

"Who designed this thing? _NASA_?" Dean complained, struggling with the straps.

"You know, it could have been following me this whole time." Sam said. "Since the baby's house."

"Alright, you know, we got to get off the road. Get Bobby John here someplace safe. Figure this thing out."

"It's okay." I told the clearly upset child, trying to comfort him as we finally got him secure. "It's okay."

* * *

 **MOTEL – DAY**

After getting as far away from that store as possibly, we stopped at another one and got the things we'd need for the baby before finding a motel. I sat on the edge of the bed next to the baby, who was laying on a blanket, Dean kneeling in front of him, trying to change his diaper, something the baby clearly wasn't too happy about, kicking his feet.

"Okay, alright, you know what? I'll pay you money if you sit still." Dean told the baby, who just stared up at him with a grin. I couldn't help but smile. Dean looked up at me, letting out a frustrated sigh. "This is like defusing an IED, with poop!" Dean mumbled to himself, taking a few more minutes before closing the diaper. "Okay, alright, you are golden, Bobby John. Time to hit the hay."

"See, you got it." I smiled.

Dean smiled back at me, gently picking the baby up, holding him much like I did before, beginning to hum _Smoke on the Water_ to him, bouncing him gently. I felt tears spring to my eyes as I watched him, imagining what it would be life if this was our baby, if things were like this was every single day.

"Dean, you're just going to make it cranky again." Sam mumbled.

"No, it's working." I said, waving Sam off.

"Okay, if I put you down, you gonna be a man about it?" Dean asked the baby, who began closing his eyes as Dean laid him in the crib. Dean turned around, seeing that I was still staring at him, my eyes misty. "What?"

"He likes you."

"What? No-"

"He does." I murmured. God, he'd be such an amazing father.

"She's right." Sam said. "You're actually not awful at that."

Dean shook his head. "I'm barely keeping that thing alive."

"No, seriously. You've got a whole Dr. Huxtable vibe coming off of you. You're like... father material. This whole time, have you guys- I mean have you talked about having kids?"

"Uh, no." Dean cleared his throat.

"Have you- have you tried to and it didn't..."

"No. No we haven't tried." I muttered.

"That's probably for the best."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, it's just...having a kid in this life, moving them around, keeping them on lockdown. How would that be any different from how we were raised?"

"No one's being shoved into this life, Sam. This is all temporary." I argued defensively.

"Dad always said it was temporary. He said it for twenty-two years. Look, I get it, you want a life away from hunting. You want to have a family. I'm just asking, how do you do that and not turn into Dad?" Sam asked.

As his words sunk in, I looked down to the floor, even more worried then before. How could I go through with this pregnancy? I wouldn't want the baby to grow up like Sam and Dean did. How I did. I wouldn't let that happen, anything would be better than that.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked. I hadn't noticed that tears were streaming down my cheeks until I looked up at him and saw the expression on his face. Dean crouched down in front of me, gently forcing me to look up into his eyes. "Baby?"

"I- I'm fine. I'm fine." I insisted, sniffling, wiping the tears off my cheeks. "I'm fine."

"Holy shit." Sam breathed. "I can't believe I missed this."

"What?" I asked, thankful for the subject change.

"This house on Elm. The mother was killed, baby was grabbed, but daddy wasn't living in the house at the time so he's still alive. What do you say we go and have a chat?"

"Yeah."

"Alright." Sam nodded, standing to his feet.

I looked over at the baby, glancing back to Dean. "You guys go, I'll stay here with him."

Dean shook his head. "Tori-"

"I'm fine, really. Go. Get this over with, okay?"

"Okay." Dean nodded, placing a gentle kiss on my lips. I melted into him, watching as he and Sam left, shutting the door behind them.

Pulling in a heavy breath, I made sure the baby was okay before going to the bed. I laid down, staring up at the ceiling and took advantage of being alone, letting my strength and resolve crumble – placing my hands on my stomach as the tears ran rapidly down my cheeks.

I stayed there sobbing for I don't even know how long until I'd dozed off, waking up to a noise and the baby crying. Just as I got up, my phone rang and I answered it. "Hello?"

" _Are you okay?_ " Dean asked.

"Yeah. How's everything over there?"

" _We talked to the father._ " Dean explained. " _He checks out. But the baby…_ "

"Yeah?" I mumbled, looking over to see blood and skin all over the crib.

" _I think the shapeshifter is his dad._ "

Fear spread through me as I looked over at the baby laying inside who was once white, but now African American, just like the baby on the package of diapers. "You think?"

Suddenly, the baby began to wail loudly. I hung up with Dean after he promised they'd be back soon and picked up the child, who still cried no matter what I did. A loud knock came from the door, startling me.

"Manager! Everything okay in there?" A man called.

"Yeah, we're fine! Thank you, goodnight."

"There's been complaints. Mind opening the door, ma'am?"

"It's really not a good time. I just got out of the shower."

The doorknob began rattling, so I put the baby back into the crib. Just as I moved towards the door, it burst open and a man dressed in a police uniform entered, pushing me back.

"Get out of the way." As he moved towards the baby, I grabbed his arms, feeling his skin shift and slip underneath my hands.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen." I steadied myself, ducking out of the way of his fist as he moved to punch me in the face.

"That child should be with his father." The shifter said, grabbing the tops of my arms, slamming me into the wall.

"I'm not really seeing the family resemblance."

"I'm not just talking about me. I'm talking about our father." He said, rearing back to punch me again. I kicked him in the groin, kneeing him in the stomach when he doubled over, grabbing a silver blade off the table as I pushed him down to the floor, straddling him. He grabbed my wrists as I attempted to plunge the blade into his chest. I struggled against him, trying to gain the upper hand and skin the blade in.

Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot rang through the room and I looked up to see Sam standing in the doorway, his gun drawn on the shifter, a bullet wound in the side of his chest, piercing his heart. Dean rushed up behind Sam then, moving over to my side, helping me off the shifer, pulling me close to him.

* * *

As quickly as we could, we collected our things, got rid of the body and placed a now calm and sleeping baby in his car seat before driving off.

"You know, it's pretty smart, actually." Sam muttered. "I mean, shifter poses as a guard for the security company to get near the house. Then it scopes out the fam."

"Yeah, and then daddy takes off, and shifter becomes daddy. A few glasses of wine, shakes momma's trees, comes back in nine months to collect it's prize." Dean added.

"I didn't even know they had babies. I thought they were just freaks of nature, like X-Men style."

"You learn something new everyday, huh?"

"I've never seen a baby monster before."

"Well he's not really a monster." I pointed out, gaining a look from Sam. "It's just a baby. It's not his fault his dad's a shifter."

"Right, but it's a shifter, too."

"Still doesn't change the fact that we've got to look after this thing." Dean interjected. "I mean, what the hell are we going to do with it? We can't actually drop it off at an orphanage. They might get upset when it turns Asian."

"Samuel." Sam muttered.

"What?"

"Samuel. He'll know what to do."

"You want to bring him to a bunch of hunters?"

"Not just hunters. They're our family."

"We don't even know them." I said.

"Well, I do. Not every hunter is a head case. I mean, Samuel is actually a lot like you." Sam said, looking over to Dean.

Dean scoffed. "Oh, yeah? Well, I'm a fucking head case."

"Well, pitch a better idea then." Sam said, glancing between Dean and I, nodded when we stayed silent. "Great. Samuel, it is."

* * *

 **COMPOUND – NIGHT**

It'd taken a few hours to get here, but once we did, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated by the large compound Sam was driving us into. After parking, Dean got out of the car, opening the door for me as I cradled the baby in my arms. Dean made sure to keep a protective arm around the both of us as we walked inside where Gwen, Christian and Mark were standing.

Gwen walked over, gently stroking the baby's face. "Well aren't you just the best disguise a monster ever wore?" I raised an eyebrow at her, to which she rolled her eyes. "I'm kidding, Tori. Relax."

Mark walked up to us then, not saying anything, just staring. Dean shot him a look. "What, you got something to say? No? Alright, well, you stand there and _think_ at us."

"What's our next move?" Sam asked as he and Samuel entered the room.

"I got a couple of ideas." Samuel said, walking over to my side, looking down at the baby. "Let me see the little guy."

"That's okay, I've got him." I said, keeping a hold on the baby.

"What do you think I'm going to do?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

"I'm curious, who exactly do you think we are?" Christian asked.

"Hunters."

"Funny, here I've been thinking we're family."

"Hey, let's not get worked up." Sam said, trying to calm down the situation.

"Yeah, let's not." Christian scoffed.

"Here, Tori, it's fine." Sam said, trying to take the baby from my arms. I looked into Sam's eyes an uncomfortable feeling passing through me.

"Why? He wants to look, he can do it from over there." I said, nodding to where Samuel stood, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Tori." Sam shot me a look. Dean rubbed my back, silently telling me to let him go.

"Please don't do anything." I pleaded, looking up at Samuel.

"I won't." Samuel said. "I just want to see him."

"Okay. Here." I let out a sigh, handing the baby over to him.

Samuel took the baby, smiling down at him. "Hey there. You're a big fella, aren't ya? Yeah. I haven't held one of these in a long time. Mary was the tiniest. She was as bald as a cue ball."

"Alright, so what the hell are we going to do with him?" Dean asked.

"Raise him."

" _Raise him?_ "

"What, you've got another suggestion?"

"But-'

"It's dangerous out there for him, Dean."

"And what about in here? What are we gonna study him? Poke at him?"

"Your mind goes straight to torture, Dean. Don't assume that for everyone." Christian said.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Sorry, I heard about what you majored in down in the Pit."

"The hell is your problem, man?"

"You're starting to become a pain in my ass."

"Funny, you've been a pain in mine since I met you." I snapped, my emotions all over the place. I couldn't keep my cool.

"You wanna say that again?" Christian asked, taking a step forward.

"You move one more inch and I promise, I will hurt you." Dean threatened through gritted teeth.

"Hey, Christian, take it easy, man." Sam called, stepping in between us and Christian.

"We all done bristling up here, or what?" Samuel asked. "Nobody's doing anything to him, Dean. When he's old enough, we throw it to him. He wants to volunteer to help out, that's fine."

"Could be great." Mark shrugged.

"How?" Dean asked.

"Think of the kind of hunter he'll grow up to be."

"You all are joking, right? I mean, come on! You can't _Angelina Jolie_ a shapeshifter. Give me the baby." Dean demanded, reaching for him.

"Why can't you give me an inch of trust, Dean?" Samuel asked.

"Maybe because you two are suddenly back from the dead, and Tori and I seem to be the only ones who want to know how the hell that happened!

"You're not the only one who wants to know." Sam interjected.

"There's just a little too much mystery with this family for me to get comfy."

"Then don't! But don't put it on us. All we're trying to do is invite you in." Samuel said. "Christian?

"Yeah?" He replied.

"You and Arlene, still no luck on the baby front?"

"Not yet, no."

"But you want one?"

"Yeah, we do."

"Whoa, hold on-" I started.

"It's okay. it's alright." Samuel said, handing the baby to Christian. "Congrats. It's a boy, sometimes."

Christian laughed, shaking his head. "The shit I do for this family."

"You're kidding me, right?" Dean asked.

"Go to hell, Dean."

"You've got not business raising anybody." I said.

"Why, Tori?" Sam asked. "Because he's a hunter?"

" _Because he's a hunter_? No, because he's a jerk!"

Before anyone could say anymore, dogs began barking wildly outside. Samuel nodded for Christian, who was glaring at me, to go check. "Christian go check the back door. Go!"

"Here." Christian huffed, pushing the baby into my arms. I cradled him again as Samuel pushed me towards a door. "Downstairs, panic room. He'll be safe there."

Sam, Dean and I left for the panic room with the baby while Gwen, Christian, Mark and Samuel began getting weapons ready. I began pacing back and forth, bouncing the baby as he cried.

"Come on, you've got to be quiet." I murmured to him as gunshots echoed upstairs.

"It does not sound good up there." Dean commented.

"Alright, I'm going to go up." Sam said, heading for the door.

"I'll come too."

"Dean." I called.

"You're safe down here."

"Okay." I nodded, watching them leave. They shut the door behind them, leaving me all alone with the baby.

Just as I turned my back to it, the door was opened again, Dean standing there. He walked over, holding his hand out. "Can I hold him for a bit?"

"Where's Sam?"

"Upstairs."

"I thought you were helping."

"They got it covered. I'd rather be in here with you." He smiled. I looked over his shoulder, seeing Sam and Dean lying on the floor through the window outside of the panic room. Before I could react, the shifter changed into an exact image of me without shedding it's skin, a grin on it's lips. "Give me the baby."

"No way in hell."

The shifter rolled their eyes, backing me up to the wall before grabbing me by the throat. They were much stronger than a normal shifter and I struggled, but couldn't seem to get the upper hand and before I knew it, everything went black.

* * *

A little while later, all three of us have recovered. Sam and Samuel were talking while Gwen and Christian cleaned up what was broke after the attack. Dean wrapped an arm around my waist as we headed over to the two, who were speaking in hushed tones.

"I'm pretty sure it's not a myth now." Samuel said.

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"What the hell was that thing?" I asked. "It was so strong."

"We think it may have been an Alpha." Samuel said.

"An alpha, like..." Dean trailed off.

"Like all monsters come from somewhere, right?"

"And you think that this one was-"

"The king shapeshifter. First one who spawned all the others, there's tons of lore about it."

"The first one?"

"That's why it was so strong, and why nothing we had stopped it." Sam interjeted

"And he said that he could find the baby anywhere. That he could feel it, like there's a connection. That's in the lore, too." Samuel said.

"What the hell does it want with babies, anyway?" I asked.

"A softball team? I got no clue."

"Great." Dean scoffed. "Well then how do we kill it?"

"I don't know if we can."

* * *

Back outside, Sam, Dean and I all walked to the car we'd come in. Something nagging at the back of my mind. I couldn't let it go, I had to say something.

"So, Sam...before you killed the shifter at the motel, he mentioned something. A father. Which makes sense now because he meant the Alpha."

"Huh." Sam shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Did you hear him say that?"

"Uh, I don't know. Kind of a hot moment, you know? Why?"

"Because if you heard him, then you knew the Alpha was out there."

"Okay."

"And if you knew the Alpha was out there-"

"Then you knew he might come after the baby." Dean finished, looking at his brother intently. "In which case you were using the baby as bait. So was that the plan? To use the baby as bait?"

"Of course not. I just thought that Samuel's was the safest place. That's all." Sam said defensively. I couldn't help but notice how strange he was acting. "So, I'm taking you back to your truck, right?"

"Yeah."

* * *

 **TORI AND DEAN'S HOUSE – NIGHT**

By the time Sam had dropped us off at the house, the sun was just about beginning to rise in the sky. Dean and I made our way inside, ignoring all the boxes that still needed unpacking, and sat down on the couch, with me leaning into his side, his arm draped over my shoulder.

We sat there in silence for a minute before Dean let out a breath, telling me something was wrong.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Tori, the- before at the motel..."

"Yeah?"

"When Sam said what he did, about kids and stuff...why did you react the way you did?"

"Oh, uh..." I trailed off, swallowing hard. "Well-"

"We've had nearly that exact conversation, word for word and you never had that kind of reaction before."

"Well, it's that time of the month...you know."

"Tori..." Dean started, moving so that he was facing me. I did the same, playing with the ends of my hair as I avoided his eyes. "Baby, is there something you need to tell me?"

"No..."

"Tori. Please."

"I promise I've been meaning to tell you." I muttered, tears filling my eyes.

"Tell me what?" Dean asked, swallowing hard. He already knew.

"I'm pregnant."

"Really?"

I nodded, keeping my eyes down. "Yeah. I- I'm sorry. I was scared and it- it just never seemed like the right time to tell you."

"So you complaining about your jeans getting tighter wasn't really because of the way I look?" Dean asked, amusement in his voice.

"No." I let out a shaky laugh, taking a moment before I allowed the seriousness to wash back over me and looked back down, not wanting to meet his eyes as the words left my mouth. "Dean, we- we can't."

"Can't, what?"

"We can't do this."

"What are you saying?"

"I don't- I think I should- I don't-"

Dean's eyes got misty as he took in what I said, what I meant. He furrowed his brow, shaking his head. "Tori, no. You- you're not saying what I think you are..."

"I don't want our baby to grow up like that, Dean. To be...that. What we were. What we are." I mumbled, my voice thick with emotion as the tears began to spill down my cheeks.

"We-" He paused, letting out a breath. "Is that what you want to do?"

"Of course not." I shook my head, my breaths erratic.

"Then that's not what we're going to do."

"But we're hunters, Dean. We- we can't get out of the life, that's already been proven time and time again. It's not possible."

"And that's fine."

"It is?"

"We've always managed to completely screw what everyone thinks and do what we want, what's good for us. Now isn't any different. Even if we keep hunting, I'll be damned if this kid grows up like us. That's not going to happen."

"Yeah?" I asked, sniffling lightly.

"Yeah. We can prepare them, keep them safe. Let them know what they need to. But I'm nobody's drill Sargent, neither are you. That kid will have a choice. They can make their own decisions, their own future. If after it all, they want to go off and be a doctor, I'm not gonna stop them."

"Me either."

Dean paused placing a hand on my stomach, smiling at me. "Baby, this is us. We can't just let that go."

I put my hands over his, nodding. "I don't want to."

"Good."

I stayed quiet for a moment, thinking over what he'd said. "I think we should keep hunting."

"You do?" Dean asked, obviously surprised. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Why does it have to be either, or? We help people. We really do. And if we can still do that, and keep this baby safe...then that's what I want. We can break the rules." I told him with a smile. "It wouldn't the first time. And it definitely won't be the last."

"Think we can pull something like that off?"

"I think you were right. We can do whatever we want." I murmured, smiling at him. "I love you."

"I know." Dean smiled back, running ran his fingers through my hair, gently holding the back of my head, guiding my lips to his, placing a gentle kiss there before resting his forehead against mine and a strangely peaceful feeling fell over me then.

We'll be okay.

* * *

 **Too much hope might just be the worst thing to have in the world of Supernatural...what do you think?**

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter!**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction**


	6. The Third Man

_Heart like an anchor, your head spilling over_  
 _Beautiful baby, we'll how they adore you_  
 _You go away but they're still chasing after_  
 _Rolling around in the weeds while they ramble on_  
 _..._

 _Bound again, they can still make you wonder_  
 _How to begin with the spell that you're under_  
 _Talking away, but they're still saying nothing_  
 _You hang around but your will may be broken_  
 _..._

 _Straight for this life_  
 _And I'll come running_  
 _Straight for this life_  
 _Well I'll come running_  
 _Straight for this life_  
 _Well, I'll be ready soon_

 ** _Matchbox Twenty - Straight For This Life_ **

* * *

The sun had just risen up in the sky, the light casting through the room as I read the book in my hands. Dean had been outside cleaning the Impala all morning, making her perfect again. I was so distracted by the book in my hands, that I jumped about ten feet in the air when I felt something bounce on the end of the bed.

"Jesus!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry." Dean chuckled, beginning to pull some guns out of the box.

"What are you doing?"

"Just making sure you're prepared."

"For?"

Dean looked up at me, shrugging. "You know, staying here. I figured I'd just load up a couple guns for you, get things ready="

"Dean-"

"I know you can take care of yourself," Dean muttered, glancing up at me with a sheepish grin. "But I asked Bobby to come over, spend he weekened with you. Just in case."

"Wait, Dean-"

"It's the first time you'll be alone, Tori. I'm not gonna leave you here by yourself."

"No shit. I'm coming with you." I said.

"You, what? Tori, what about the- what about, you know."

"I'm not gonna do anything stupid."

"Baby our entire lives are filled with us doing stupid things."

"Speak for yourself, Winchester." I said with a grin, reaching out to grab the shot gun from him. "Listen, I'll leave the fighting up to you and Sam, but there's no way I'm gonna stay here while my boys are out there."

"There's no point in fighting with you, is there?" Dean asked, exasperated.

"Nope." I smiled wide, cocking the gun, winking at him.

* * *

The feeling of watching the trees fly by as the Impala sped down the highway was something I missed more than I could've ever imagined. Every time I looked over at Dean, he was smiling, singing along to the radio. I couldn't help but smile at him, finding it hard to look away sometimes.

We'd been driving for a while when Dean pulled over to a rest stop so we could stretch our legs. As Dean came back to the car, two bottles of water in hand. He gave me one of them, pulling his ringing phone out of his pocket.

"What's this?" I asked, glancing down at the waters.

"Water."

"I know. But I'm pretty sure I asked for Coke."

Dean shrugged, his eyes passing along my stomach before meeting mine. "I just figured...you know, water would be better...for the both of you."

I felt a smile spread across my lips as I stared into his eyes. "You're adorable."

"Yeah, yeah." Dean mumbled, rolling his eyes as he answered his phone. "Hey Sam."

Needless to say, Sam was a little shocked when we'd told Dean our decision. Though he seemed happy that we would all be together again, I couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was wrong. When I looked at him, his eyes, there was this spark missing there. Maybe that's what decades of Lucifer using you as a punching bag does.

"What are you doing in Pennsylvania?" Dean asked, waiting for his brother's reply. "A case? When? It's been like a day and a half."

"Wow." I muttered.

Dean pulled the phone away, looking at the screen that read _call ended._ "Who died and made him boss?"

"Sam's being bossy?" I asked, feigning surprise. "A Winchester being bossy? What a concept."

"Very funny. We gotta head out. Back in the other direction, Sam caught a case in Easter, Pennsylvania."

"Huh. Alright."

"Let's go." Dean said, making his way to the driver side.

"Sure thing, boss." I smiled.

Dean paused with his hand on the door handle, looking up at me, his eyes lustful. "If I were you, I wouldn't call me that again."

"Oh, yeah? Why not?"

"Because if you do, I don't think I'll be able to stop myself from ripping all your clothes off."

"Oh...well, whatever you say..." I paused, biting my lip. "Boss."

Dean grabbed my hand, pulling me flush against his body, pressing my back against the door of the Impala, kissing me deeply. The cover of the darkness made it a little easier to be discreet, and I grabbed Dean by the collar and pulled him into the backseat of the Impala, the both of us pealing each others clothes off in no time.

* * *

By the time we'd reached Easter, it was the next morning. Dean and I had stopped and changed into our suits, pulling up in front of the hospital where Sam was waiting, also in his suit. Dean and I walked over to Sam, who was leaning on the hood of his car.

"Hey." Dean called.

"Hey guys." Sam muttered, pushing off the car. "I've been waiting a while."

"We had to make a few pit stops."

"Can't you guys keep it in your pants for more than five seconds?"

"Still driving the plastic piece of crap, huh?"

"What's your mileage, again?"

"Shut up."

"Come on." I chuckled, shaking my head. The three of us headed inside of the building, easily getting into the morgue. I looked over the file, glancing up at Sam with a raised eyebrow. "How-"

"The guy just... liquefied. Most of the meat, bones, dense tissues, they just turned to blood." Sam replied.

"I don't get it."

" _Nobody_ gets it."

"No, I mean I don't get why we're in a morgue if the guy turned into a puddle of blood. What's left to look at?"

"Well, we're not here to look at him _._ We're here for this guy." Sam said, opening a drawer, pulling out the boil-covered corpse of a man. "Officer Toby Gray. They just brought him in. Found him dead in his patrol car, sitting at a speed trap on the outside of town."

" _Extreme allergic reaction._ " Dean read from his file.

"I'd say." I mumbled.

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "Boils. Covered from head to toe."

"Yeah, on the inside, too." Dean cringed. "It says his airways are chock full of them. This starting to look a little witchy to you?"

"That was my first instinct, but I found zero signs of hexwork anywhere. Far as I can tell, witchcraft was not involved."

"There's got to be some sort of link between, uh, skid mark and bubble wrap here."

"No question."

"Well, can I get a witness?"

"Yup. Officer Ed Colfax. He saw Hatch go from a solid to a liquid."

"Another cop?" I asked.

"Hatch's partner."

* * *

The neighborhood we pulled into reminded me a lot of where Dean and I had lived for what felt like forever ago. I couldn't help but feel guilty over what had happened to Hank and his wife. I pushed those thoughts away as Dean pulled up in front of a house, Sam parking behind the Impala.

"Were you racing me?" Sam asked as he walked over to us.

"No." Dean scoffed. "You're just a shitty driver."

I waited until Sam began walking up the pathway to the door, keeping my voice low. "Were you racing him?"

"I was kicking his ass." Dean grinned.

"Very mature." I joked, placing a hand on my stomach with a laugh. "Maybe he'll grow up to be a race car driver."

Dean's face paled as he stared at me, his eyes going wide. " _He_? What?"

"Oh." I glanced down, my cheeks turning red. "I don't- I don't actually know."

"Oh, okay. You nearly gave me a heart attack there."

"If we ever want to find out before...we'll find out together."

Dean smiled. "Okay."

"Guys?" Sam called from the porch. "Come on!"

"Alright, alright."

Sam knocked on the door as we approached the steps "Hello? Officer Colfax?"

A man opened the door, dressed in his full uniform. Dean nodded. "Lookin' sharp, Kojak."

"Who the hell are you?" The officer spat.

"We're the Fed, Ed." Sam said. "We're here to ask you a few follow-up questions about your partner's death."

"Don't worry about it. It's nobody's business."

"Officer Colfax-" I started, interrupted by him slamming the door in our faces. "Well okay, then."

Sam let out a huff, kicking the door in. Both Dean and I jumped as Sam stomped into the house, quickly following along as he made his way into an office where Ed sat, using a screwdriver to scratch his face out of his police portrait, just like all the other family photos in the room, the faces were scratched out.

"Officer Colfax?" Sam asked.

"Hey, man, you alright?" Dean asked.

"Don't worry about it." Ed replied again.

"Right. Look, Officer Colfax - Ed. We think that your partner died of unnatural causes. Did he have any enemies that you know of?"

"You might say that."

"Okay. Like who?" I asked.

"They both had it coming. Me too. I'll be the next to go, and then it'll be over. And God will be satisfied."

"Why does God want you all dead?"

'Cause of Christopher Birch."

"Who's Christopher Birch?" Sam inquired.

"He has no face." Ed mumbled, his voice going blank.

"Officer?" Dean called.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Who is Christopher Birch, Ed?" Sam pushed.

"Christopher Birch is a kid with no face... and a planted gun." He murmured, a drop of blood trickling down his forehead from underneath his hat, he touched it, grimacing. "Damn. My head's been itching like a dirty jocks-"

Ed suddenly fell forward, his face slamming into the broken picture frame glass that was scattered around the ground. Sam moved around the desk, feeling his neck for a pulse. "Dead."

"Do you hear that?" Dean asked, glancing over to me.

"Yeah." I nodded, hearing a small buzzing sound coming from Ed's body. Sam reached for his hat, and as soon as he lifted it off his head, a couple locusts crawled out of the large hole there.

* * *

 **MOTEL – DAY**

"Sweet. Blood, boils, locusts." Dean mumbled, from behind his laptop that rested on top of his knees as he sat on the small couch in the room. I was sitting across from Sam at the table, the both of us going through some papers.

"Three of your more popular Egyptian plagues." Sam muttered.

"Yeah, but these guys... ate their way out of a cop's melon." Dean said, inspecting the jar of locusts. "I don't quite remember that in the King James."

"Meanwhile, a kid named Christopher Birch _was_ shot in the head last month after a vehicle pursuit. Hatch, Gray, and Colfax were the three officers involved, and they all filed the exact same police report." I said, beginning to read from the paper. " _Suspect exited vehicle brandishing a firearm. We were forced to fire, just a kid with no face and a planted gun._ "

"Bunch of dicks. So they pop the kid, plant the piece."

"Maybe Colfax is right. You know, maybe heaven has a hate-on for bad cops." Sam suggested.

"So we're listening to the guy with the bug in his custard? That's- that's the, uh, the theory you want to go with?"

"Dean, angels got to have something to do, right, now that we're post-Apocalypse?"

"We should call Cas."

"You're kidding, right? Dean, I tried. It was the first and second and third thing I did, soon as I got topside. Son of a bitch won't answer the phone."

"Well, let's give it a shot." Dean said, looking to me. "Work your magic."

"What?"

"Pray to him."

"Dean I- Cas and I didn't part on the best terms. Do you really think he'd even listen to me?"

"Worth a shot isn't it?"

"I- I guess."

"Go ahead."

"What do I say?"

" _Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray to Castiel to get his feathery ass down here."_

"Oh, sure." I scoffed, shaking my head.

"You're an idiot." Sam rolled his eyes.

"You telling me you're not still upset with him?" Dean asked me.

I let out a sigh, looking down to the ground. "Listen, Cas, if you can hear this...you're still a jerk...but we need your help. Cas?"

"Like I said, the son of a bitch doesn't answer." Sam said, my eyes going wide when I saw the blue-eyed angel appear directly behind him. Sam saw my expression, nodding. "He's right behind me, isn't he?"

"Yup."

"Hello." Castiel muttered.

"Hello?" Sam asked, turning around to face the angel.

"Y- yes?"

Sam scoffed, impersonating Cas's deep, monotone voice. " _Hello_?"

"Uh, that is still the term?"

"I spent all that time trying to get through to you. Tori calls once, _and_ calls you a jerk while doing it, and now you pop up our of nowhere and it's just _hello_?"

"Yes."

"So, what, you- you like her better or something?"

"Victoria and I share a very strong bond."

"Oh, yeah? Does Dean know about that _bond_?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dean furrowed his brow, his eyes darting between Sam and I. "Wait, what? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Dean. Stop." I rolled my eyes.

"Victoria..." Castiel trailed off, tiling it his head to the side as his eyes trailed over me. "You-"

"What?" I asked, silently trying to tell him to shut up. Now wasn't the time for Sam to find out.

Thankfully, for once he understood, looking back down. "Nothing I suppose."

"Cas, I think what Sam is trying to say is that he went to hell...for us. You do remember that, don't you?"

Castiel looked down, not meeting my eyes. "Yes.

"You could have given him five minutes."

"If I had any answers, I might have responded." Cas said strongly. "I don't know, Sam. We have no idea who brought you back from the cage... or why."

"So it wasn't god?" Sam asked.

"No one's even _seen_ God. The whole thing remains mysterious."

"What the hell does _that_ mean?"

"What part of _I don't know_ , escapes your understanding?"

"Hey, why don't you chill out a little Halo." I snapped. "Try and lower yourself back down to our level and help us figure out why people are dying biblically around here."

"It's not the angels."

"It's not?"

"No. But the murders were committed with one of our weapons. There's only one thing that could have brought this into existence. You call it the Staff of Moses.

" _The_ Staff?" Sam asked.

"It was used in a dominance display against the Egyptians, as I recall."

"Yeah." Dean scoffed. "That one made the papers."

"B-but I thought the Staff turned, like, a- a _river_ into blood, not one dude." Sam pointed out.

"The weapon isn't being used at full capacity." Castiel replied. "I think we can rule Moses out as a suspect."

"Okay, but what is Chuck Heston's disco stick doing down here, anyway?" Dean asked. "I mean, don't you guys put away your toys?"

"Before the apocalypse, Heaven may have been corrupt, but it was stable. The staff was safely contained. It's been chaos up there since the war ended. In that confusion, a number of... powerful weapons were... stolen."

"You- are you saying your nukes are loose?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so. But you've stumbled onto one of them. We must find the weapon that did this. I need your help."

"That's rich." Sam scoffed. "Really."

Cas let out a sigh, using air quotes around certain words as he spoke. "My _people skills_ are _rusty_. Pardon me, but I have spent the last _year_ as a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent. But believe me, you _do not_ want that weapon down here. Help me find it. Or more people will die."

I raised an eyebrow at him, nodding slowly. "Yeah, okay. So if the angels didn't pull the trigger, then that brings us back to motive."

"What?"

"Back to the case. Right now, we got three dead cops. Only thing linking them is this." Sam said, holding up a newspaper clipping, reading off of it. " _Father of slain suspect calls for investigation._ "

Suddenly, the four of us were in the middle of a living room in a suburban home, a man cutting clips of a newspaper out on the dining room table.

"Jesus Christ, Cas!" I exclaimed, placing a hand over my chest. "You need to give people some warning."

"I apologize." Cas muttered.

"What the... how'd you get in here?!" Mr. Birch shouted.

"Mr. Birch, settle down." Sam said, flashing his badge. "Federal agents."

"But you can't just walk in here!"

"Quite a collection you've got there, huh?"

"What are you trying to-"

"Look, we know the truth, alright? Chris didn't have a gun on him when those cops shot him. They set him up."

"Yeah. They're all getting theirs."

"And who's giving it to them, Darryl?" Sam asked in a harsh accusing tone.

"Darryl, did you kill Toby Gray and the others?" I asked.

" _Me?!_ I didn't kill anyone!" He exclaimed. "Look at how they died!"

"You smote them with the Staff of Moses!" Cas said.

"The hell kind of Fed are you?"

"We don't have time for this. Where is it?!"

Leave my dad alone!" A boy shouted from behind us, holding a rather small staff out as if it were a gun.

"Is that…? Yes."

"Shouldn't it be...I don't know..." I paused, clearing my throat. "Bigger?"

"Guess my staff has set the bar too high, huh?" Dean asked with a smirk.

"Well, can't really argue with you there." I shrugged, laughing lightly.

"It's been sawed off." Cas said in frustration. Both Dean and I let the amusement fade from ours faces after seeing the look of seriousness on Cas's.

"Right, yeah."

"Leave him alone! It wasn't him!" The boy called.

"Aaron, get out of here!" Darryl shouted, standing up. Castiel placed two fingers against his forehead, sending him falling back to the couch, unconscious.

"What did you do to him?"

"It's alright. He's just sleeping." Dean said. In n instant, Aaron pointed the staff at Dean, and Cas was across the room, ripping it from the boy's hands. "Cas, take it easy!"

"Listen Aaron, we're not gonna hurt you okay?" I said, softening my voice. "We just need to know where you got this thing."

"Please don't kill my dad. It was me. I did it." Aaron muttered.

"Nobody's killing anybody." Dean reassured him. "What's your name?"

"Aaron. Aaron Birch."

"Okay, Aaron Birch, where did you get this?"

"You won't believe me."

Dean looked over to me, before looking back to the boy. "Try us."

"It was an angel."

"An angel?"

"Those liars, they killed my brother, and nothing bad even happened to them. It's not fair. So I prayed to God every night he would punish them. God didn't answer. But _he_ did."

"Who is _he_?" I asked. "Did he give you a name?"

"No. He just said I could have justice, but I was gonna have to take it myself. He- he gave me the stick."

"He just gave it to you?" Dean asked, to which Aaron nodded. "Oh, come on. He didn't just _give_ it to you, did he, Aaron?"

The boy shrugged, looking away. "I bought it."

"You _bought_ it?" Sam chuckled. "With what? What's your allowance?"

I shot Sam a hard look, bringing my eyes back to the boy. "What did the angel want for it? What did you give him?"

"My soul."

"You sold your soul to an angel?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Can that even happen?" Dean asked Cas.

"It's never happened before. An angel's buying souls. That could explain why he cut the staff into pieces. More pieces, more product."

"More product, more souls." I added. Castiel nodded.

" _Product_?" Dean asked. "Who is this guy?"

"We'll find him." Cas said, pressing his fingers to Aaron's forehead, letting his unconscious body fall to the ground.

"What did you do that for?"

"Portability."

In the blink of an eye, Sam, Dean and I were back at the motel, followed closely by Castiel, who had Aaron draped over his shoulder, plopping him down onto the bed.

"Cas, you realize you just kidnapped a kid, right?" Dean asked.

"If the angel we seek truly bought this boy's soul, when a claim is laid on a living soul, it leaves a mark, a brand."

"What, like a- like a shirt tag at camp?" Sam asked.

"I have no idea." Cas muttered honestly, not understanding him. "But I can read the mark and find the name of the angel that bought the soul."

"How?" I asked.

"Well, painfully for him. The reading will be excruciating." Cas said, moving to touch the kids forehead.

"Whoa, Cas, wait. Hold on."

"Victoria."

"He's a kid, Cas. I- Sam?" Dean called, looking to his brother for help.

"Any permanent damage?" Sam asked, the angel.

"What?!"

"Physically, minimal."

"Oh, well, yeah, then by all means, stick your arm right in there." I said sarcastically.

"If I get the name, I can work a ritual to track the angel down."

"Great, and we should totally do that. Another way."

"There is no other way."

"So you're gonna torture a kid?" Dean asked.

"I _can't_ care about that, Victoria! I don't have the luxury." Cas pushed his hand into Aaron's chest and the boy began screaming in agony. I was about to rush over to stop Cas when Dean pulled me back, probably afraid I could get hurt in the process of trying to stop this. It felt like an eternity before Cas retracted his hand and Aaron stopped screaming, falling unconscious again. "He'll rest now."

"Did you get a name?" Sam asked, apparently the only thing on his mind. He didn't even seem worried in the slightest about that kid's suffering. "What is it?"

"I thought he died in the war."

"Was he a friend or something?"

"A good friend."

"Yeah, well, your frat buddy is now moonlighting as a crossroads demon." Dean said.

"Balthazar. I wonder..."

Suddenly the ringing in my ears grew as another angel appeared, grinning at Cas. "Balthazar. Thanks, Castiel. We'll make good use of the name." The angel attacked Castiel with an angel blade. Cas quickly blocked it with his own, pushing the angel away. "And by the way, Raphael says hello."

Both angels fought until they both lost their swords, grappling and jumping through the window, falling several stories, the sound of a huge crash, following by a car alarm going off. The three of us ran over to the window just as the angel disappeared, leaving Castiel standing next to the destroyed car.

"My car." Sam mumbled.

"Okay." Dean nodded. "Silver lining."

Cas disappeared from next to the car, reappearing behind us. "He's gone."

"Alright Cas, who was that guy?" Sam asked.

"A soldier of Raphael. He must have followed me when I answered your call."

"Raphael, the archangel?" I asked, to which Cas nodded. "What is going on here?"

"I can explain later. Right now we have to-"

"No, not later. Now." Dean said. "Stop, alright? Too many angels, Cas! I don't know who's on first, what's on second."

"What is _second_?"

"Don't start that."

"It is simple: Raphael and his followers, they want him to rule Heaven. I, and many others, the _last_ thing we want is to let him take over. It would be catastrophic."

"You're talking civil war." Sam said.

"Technically, yes. Which is why we have to find Balthazar and his weapons before Raphael does. Whoever has the weapons wins the war." Cas said, pulling one of Sam's bags out from underneath the bed.

"Yeah, help yourself."

"And what happens if Raphael wins?" Dean asked "What does he want?"

"What he's always wanted. To end the story the way it was written." Cas replied, taking a bottle of holy water from the bag.

"You mean the apocalypse, the one that we derailed?"

"Yes. That one. Raphael wants to put it back on the rails."

"Why?"

"I need myrrh."

Sam furrowed his brow. "Myrrh?"

Cas disappeared from view, reappearing a few moment later beginning to draw on the table with chalk. Dean let out a huff, turning to the angel. "Why Raphael want to bring back all this shit?"

"He's a traditionalist."

"Why didn't you tell us this, Cas?" I asked.

"I was ashamed. I expected more from my brothers." Cas said, looking over to me. "I didn't want you to find out that this is what was happening in your extended family."

"Oh, because I thought so highly of all the angels before."

"I'm sorry. Now I need your blood." Cas said suddenly, grabbing Dean's wrist, slicing his palm over the bowl.

"Cas!"

"Why don't you use your own?!" Dean asked with a hiss as he clutches his hand shut, the blood dripping into the bowl.

"It wouldn't work. I'm not human." The angel replied. Once there was a layer of blood covering the bottom, Cas began throwing holy water and myrrh into the bowl.

"Come here, baby." I muttered to Dean, grabbing a roll of gauze from the bag Cas had set on the chair, beginning to wrap it around Dean's injured hand.

"Uh, Cas, how long does this spell take?" Sam asked as sirens began wailing in the distance.

"Got him." Cas nodded. "Let's go."

"Wait, what about the kid?" Dean asked.

"Don't you think the police will take him home?"

"Only if they know who the hell he is. Bring him back, Cas."

"Victoria, we don't have time."

"Oh, please, you traveled to god knows where to get some myrrh, you bring the kid across fucking town." I said angrily, narrowing my eyes at the angel, who seemed a bit taken back by my outburst. With a huff, he went and placed a hand on Arron's forehead, the both of them disappearing.

"I love it when you get bossy." Dean grinned to me.

* * *

 **MANSION – NIGHT**

Once Castiel came back, we left for the mansion, teleporting there in a split second. The four of us crept up the pathway, advancing on the large home. As Cas stepped in front of us, a frog croaked from the railing of the large staircase in the middle of the room, and in the blink of an eye, Cas was gone.

"What just happened?" I asked, looking back to the boys, realizing that when I turned, I was in a completely different room, strobe lights fluttering around the walls. The door shut behind me and I felt someone grab my arm, looking up to see Cas there.

"This has nothing to do with her Balthazar." Cas said.

"But what would a family reunion be if we left out part of the family?" A British voice asked, a blonde man appearing across the room, smiling as he appeared in front of me. "You certainly grew up to be beautiful. Just like your mother, your grandmother. Hell, even your grandfather."

"Balthazar."

"I haven't gotten this good of a look at you in...well, ever." The angel said, looking to me. "I could only watch from afar."

"I grieved your death."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry about that, you know. I wanted them to think, you know, so... they wouldn't come looking for me." Balthazar told Cas, looking back to me. "You were somewhat of a celebrity with the angels, you know."

"What?" I asked.

"You _and_ your mother. You were the first lives to emerge from the pairing of a human and ex-angel."

"Why does that even matter? Camael was human."

"No, no. Maybe he lost his grace, but he was an archangel. His blood was still very much angelic. Why do you think your body can hold angel grace so well?" Balthazar asked, his eyes training on my stomach, a grin on his face. "And so the cycle continues."

"What are you doing here?" Castiel asked, changing the subject.

"Whatever I want. This morning I had a ménage à – what's French for twelve?" He asked. My eyes widened as I stared at him, my mouth dropping open slightly.

"You stole the Staff of Moses?"

"Sure, sure. I stole a _lot_ of things."

"You were a great and honorable soldier. We fought together."

"Yes, too many times to count."

"I know you. You're not some common thief."

"Common? No. Thief? Eh."

"I need your help."

"I know. I've been hearing all about you, and as far as I'm concerned, you and me, Cas, nothing's changed. We're brothers. Of course I want to help you."

"Thank you. I need the weapons."

"Don't ask _that"_

"Why'd you take them, anyway? Why'd you run away?" I asked.

"Because I _could!_ You're the ones who made it possible. The footsteps I'm following, they're yours, Castiel. What you did, stopping the big plan, the prize fight? You did more than rebel. You tore up the whole script and burned the pages for all of us. It's a new era. No rules, no destiny. Just utter and complete freedom."

"And this is what you do with it?"

"Somebody's feisty."

"You took a grieving child's soul!"

"Hey, screw it, right?! I mean, dad's not coming back. You might as well blow coke and jump on the bed. You proved to me we could do anything, so I'm trying _everything_. What difference does it make?"

"Of course it makes a-" Cas scoffed. "It's civil war up there!"

"I know."

"If we can beat Raphael, we can end this! Just give me the weapons."

"Do you know what's funny about you? You actually believe that you can stop the fighting. It will never stop. My advice, grab something valuable and fake your own death."

"You've gone insane. Your little holiday is over. Raphael knows you're alive by now."

"Oh, Raphael can try me anytime. I'm armed. I'm sorry, Cas. All else aside, I'm really, really happy to see you. Even though you still have that stick up your ass." Balthazar said as thunder crashed loudly outside. "Was that you?"

"No."

Balthazar glanced over at me, his eyebrow raised. "You?"

"Uh, no."

"Oh, that's my cue then. Tell, uh, Raphael to bite me." Balthazar said before disappearing from view, leaving us alone in the room.

"You have to get out of here." Cas said, reaching his hand up to touch my forehead. Just before he touched me, another crack of thunder echoed in the sky.

The sound of wings flapping came from behind us, both Cas and I turned to see an angel standing there, advancing towards us. "Hello Castiel."

"You're making a mistake. Please. There is another way. Brother, please. I don't want to hurt you." Cas told the angel as he approahed. He didn't listen, swinging his angel blade. Cas dodged him, pushing his own blade deep into the angel's chest, the blue light faring up in his eyes, his body dropping to the ground. "Why won't any of you listen?"

Suddenly, I felt someone grab me from behind, their hand on my throat. "They don't listen, Castiel, because their hearts are mine."

Castiel turned, his eyes looking frightened. "Let her go, Raphael."

"Or?" The archangel asked with a laugh, one single flick of his finger sending Cas flying back against a set of double doors, causing them to fling open. Raphael turned me around, still holding my throat. "You dumb little waste of space. You don't deserve the power you've been given. You don't deserve life. Your child doesn't deserve life."

"No." I croaked, swallowing hard as his grip tightened on my neck, my nails clawing into his wrist.

"Somehow, I don't think God will be bringing you back this time."

"Hey!" Balthazar called. "Look at my junk."

I furrowed my brow, having no clue what he was talking about until Raphael let me go. Castiel appeared by my side, wrapping an arm around me before bringing the both of us across the room in an instant while the archangel stared at the glowing crystal Balthazar held, his eyes going wide as his entire body turned to salt, hitting the floor in a heap of grains.

"Same thing happened to Lot's wife. Iodize the poor sucker, and your kitchen is stocked for life." Balthazar laughed.

"You came back." Castiel muttered in surprise.

"Well, now Raphael will have to go shopping for a new vessel. Should give me a nice long head start on him."

"Thank you." I muttered, tears filling my eyes.

Balthazar nodded, looking between me and Castiel. "Until next time."

"Next time." Cas nodded.

"No time like the present." Dean said, appearing in the doorway, flicking on a lighter, dropping it at Balthazar's feet, igniting a ring of holy fire around him.

"You hairless ape! Release me!"

"First you're taking your marker off of Aaron Birch's soul."

"Am I?"

"Sam?" Dean called, looking behind him to Sam, who uncorked a bottle of holy oil.

"Unless you like your wings extra crispy, I'd think about it." Sam said.

"Castiel, I stood for you in heaven. Are you gonna let-"

"I believe the hairless ape has the floor." Cas replied.

"And you?" Balthazar turned to look at me. "I just saved you and your child's life. This is how you repay me?"

"Child?" Sam asked, looking between Dean and I.

"Of course I knew, Balthazar." I said, trying to ignore Sam's look. "You bringing me up here wasn't part of the plan though."

"Very well." Balthazar inhaled, touching his hands to his head. "The boy's debt is cleared. His soul is his own."

"Why are you buying human souls, anyway?"

"In this economy? It's probably the only thing worth buying. Do you have any idea what souls are worth? What power they hold? Now... release me."

"Suck it, ass clown. Nobody said anything-" Dean spat. I looked over to Castiel, seeing that he was staring at the other angel with sad eyes. I gently touched his hand, my eyes meeting his as I told him it was okay.

He did save us, after all. Without him...we'd be dead right now.

Cas nodded subtly, lowering his hand, lowering the flames. "My debt to you is cleared."

"Cas, what the hell?" Dean asked.

"He saved our lives, Dean." I said, looking back to Balthazar. "When I said thank you, I meant it."

"Alrighty, then." Balthazar grinned, disappearing from view.

"Are you out of your mind!?" Dean exclaimed. Suddenly, Cas left, leaving me alone with the boys, who were both glaring at me. "Tori?!"

"Thanks a lot Cas! Throw me under the bus, why don't you!" I shouted at no one.

"What the hell?"

"Raphael had his hands wrapped around my throat. He was about to snap my neck like a twig. Balthazar came back and stopped him."

Dean's heavy breaths seemed to slow slightly as he let my words sink in. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Is the-"

"I think so." I nodded, trying to hide how scared I was. I had no idea if our baby was alright after that.

"Are you pregnant?" Sam asked, looking over at me.

"Yeah."

"Well, what- when are you gonna...you know."

"What?"

"When are you gonna get rid of it?"

"Excuse me?" I snapped, anger flaring through me.

"Sam." Dean called, his voice irritated.

"What is going on with you, Sam?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're not okay."

"I'm fine, Tori."

"Oh, you're fine? What about when Cas was giving the Holy Taser treatment to that kid?"

"What about it?"

"You jumped straight on the band wagon with him. You were all for it."

"What?"

"She's right, Sam." Dean interjected. "Tori and I were the only ones raising a card."

"No way. I was- I was with you, but...I don't know. W-we needed the intel."

"But we tortured that kid to get it."

"Did you even care?" I asked.

"Of course!"

"Well, I didn't get that feeling."

"Well-"

"The Sam I knew never would have let a kid be tortured so we could get information. The Sam I knew never would have asked me if I was going to _get rid_ of my baby. He would've promised me that he'd help do whatever to protect them."

"Things are- things different now. I said what I did because just look at what happened here. You almost got killed. And if you keep that baby, you're putting an innocent life in danger," Sam said, his eyes void of emotion.

"Something's different with you." Dean said. "You have to know that."

"Yeah, I do. I know."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean... I've been hunting non-stop for the past year, kind of- kind of on the wild, you know? So, yeah, I suppose I'm a little rough around the edges."

"Yeah, I get that. I just don't think we're getting the whole scoop. You went to hell, Sam. And believe me, I know what that does to a guy."

"To you."

"What?"

"You know what it does to _you._ It- it tortured _you._ You know? I think it still does. But, Dean... I'm okay."

"So you're saying, what, that- that you're stronger than me?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. Just saying we're different." Sam shrugged, walking out of the room, leaving Dean and I to stare after him.

* * *

 **MOTEL – NIGHT**

After putting Sam's things in the truck of the Impala, we drove for a couple hours before getting a motel for the night. I somehow got out of the iron hold Dean had on me without waking him up and made my way outside to get some fresh air.

I couldn't help the sickening feeling that filled me the more time I spent around Sam. More was going on here than he was telling us. He wasn't just _different._ He was uncaring, unsympathetic. He wasn't himself. Something was horribly wrong, but I had no idea what.

The more I thought about what he'd said, the more I wondered if it was true. Did we make the wrong decision? Should we- is it fair to put a child through these things? Even if they're unborn. Would it just make more sense to end the suffering now before it really began?

A stray tear slipped down my cheek at the thought and I wiped it away, wrapping my arms around my torso. The ringing popped back to the front of my mind and I looked over to see Cas standing next to me.

"Hi." I mumbled, wiping the tears away.

"You're crying." Cas muttered, his brow furrowed.

"I'm okay."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying."

I let out a breath, nodding. "Yeah, I am."

"What is it, Victoria?"

"Do you remember, a few years ago, when I thought I was pregnant?"

Cas looked away for a moment, not meeting my eyes. "Well-"

"I already figured out that was you, Cas. You were checking on me."

"I always have. I've never stopped."

"I know." I nodded with a small smile. "It's okay. But it's not a false alarm this time."

"A what?"

"Last time I thought I was pregnant, I wasn't. This time-"

"You are."

"And I'm scared." I muttered, feeling my voice become thick with emotion as I tried to hold back the tears. "I'm so scared."

"Why?"

"I can't keep him."

"Why not?"

"Look at my life, Cas. Look at this world. It's horrible. I don't want- I don't want to raise a child like this. I don't want them to grow up how Sam and Dean did. And I know it's dangerous. And it's stupid. But God, I don't think I could do it. I can't get rid of him. I can't."

A look of sadness cross Castiel's eyes as he stared down into mine. "That's exactly what your mother said."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

"If she had...done that...look what you've done, Victoria. You've saved the world. You were always destined for great things. Dean, too. Your baby is, as well."

"We've had to go through a lot of pain and loss in the process of saving everybody else." I said, pulling in a deep breath. "I almost died tonight. The baby would've died, too. Shouldn't I end it now because I choose to instead of waiting for someone else to make that decision for me?"

Castiel stared down at me for a moment before hesitantly placing his hand on my stomach. I watched his reaction closely, getting scared when he didn't speak. Was something wrong?"

"Your baby is healthy. Growing and strong." Castiel muttered. I could barely even breathe because of all the emotions I felt well up inside of me, tears springing to my eyes.

How was I supposed to end that?

"Yeah?"

"Yes." The angel looked deep into my eyes, pressing his hand tighter against my stomach. "Victoria, I promise, I will make this a world you can raise your children in. I will make it safe."

"What?" I asked, looking back up to see that Cas was gone and I was alone. I placed a hand on my stomach, letting out a heavy breath before turning and heading back into the room, slipping next to Dean under the covers. He rolled over, placing his arm over my stomach, underneath my chest, his face nuzzled into the crook of my neck.

I've been on birth control for years, I've never gotten pregnant, not ever. So why now? I guess I had no other choice than to believe that Cas was right. Dean believed it. He never wanted me to get rid of the baby. So no matter what anyone else has said or will say, we could do this. Some might think it's impossible, but we've done the impossible before. We'd protect this baby, no matter what.

* * *

' ** _We're the Fed, Ed' Sam said._** **I'm turning into freaking Dr Seuss xD**

 **Also last night's finale. No spoilers, but my god. I laughed, I cried, I died a little more on the inside. Fun times.**

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it!**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79  
Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfiction **


	7. Weekend At Bobby's

As uncomfortable as I was with the idea, after what happened back in Easter, plus the fact that Dean had most likely made up a sob story about how Bobby had been eating only microwavable frozen and canned foods and that he missed my home-cooked meals, Dean had convinced me to take a weekend off and spend it with Bobby. And that was even after he found out that Bobby had known about Sam for the _entire_ year he was back. Needless to say, Dean was upset and so was I, but he wasn't letting that stop himself from bringing me here.

If he was really that worried about me, then I guess one weekend couldn't hurt. He claimed the hunt him and Sam were going on wouldn't be a big deal. That they'll be fine.

So, with that, I felt like my fifteen year old self again as the Impala pulled up in front of the old two-story home in the middle of a yard full of beat up old cars. I got out of the Impala, pulling in a breath of the grease-scented air and my stomach churned.

Dean came out from the driver side of the Impala to open the truck, pulling out my bag. I held my hand out, which he ignored. "I got it."

"Dean, give me the bag," I said.

"I got it, Tor." He repeated with a shrug, heading towards the steps. I followed along, Sam a few steps behind me. Dean knocked on the door, the sound of rushed footsteps making their way over to it on the other side.

Bobby opened the door, breathing heavily as his eyes darted between the three of us. He quickly tried to cover up the look in his eyes with a gruff voice. "You kids are here early."

"Nope," Dean muttered, glancing down at his watch. "It's two, just like we said."

"Huh. I guess time got away from me, then," Bobby grumbled, stepping to the side so we could enter. "Would it have killed you to call first?"

"I don't know, would it have killed you to give me a heads up about Sam?"

"You know why I didn't. You two were out."

"Yeah, we're really _out._ "

"Alright, alright." I said, stepping in between the two. "That's enough, okay? It- it's over with."

"Yeah," Dean mumbled as Bobby took my bag from him.

"Where you boys headed?" Bobby asked.

"Kenosha," Sam replied.

"Wisconsin?"

"Yeah. Got some leads on a couple weird deaths. Figured it's something we should check out."

"It's just a routine hunt." Dean added.

I glared at him, folding my arms, "Which is why I should be going-"

"Tori," He sighed.

"Dean."

"I'll, uh, bring this upstairs for you," Bobby mumbled, heading up the steps.

"I'll go wait in the car. See you, Tori." Sam said, turning on his heel, exiting the room, the both of them leaving Dean and I alone.

"I just want to know that you-" Dean paused, lowering his voice. "And the baby, are safe."

"I know. But I'm gonna be sitting around here, doing nothing, worried sick about you."

"Tor, I'm pretty sure I know how to handle myself out there," Dean muttered with a grin.

"It's not that, Dean..." I trailed off.

"Then what is it?"

I crossed my arms, trying to figure out a way to explain."I just- it's Sam."

Dean furrowed his brow. "What about him?"

"We both know he's is acting weird."

"Yeah, I know. I got it under control."

"I'm just saying...be careful, okay?"

"Always am."

"And come back to me."

"I will," Dean nodded with a small smile, bending down, placing a loving kiss on my lips.

"Okay," I muttered, smiling at him as he left.

The feeling weighing down in my chest doubled as I watched him go, the door shutting behind him with a click. My stomach churned again, something inside calling me towards the basement door. Just as I reached out to grab the handle, Bobby appeared at the top of the steps.

"Hey, the boys leave yet?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, they did."

"So, you up for making some of your famous chili?"

"Yeah," I nodded, turning away from the door to face him.

"Good. 'Cause I already went out and got everything," Bobby said, leading me into the kitchen where various ingredients sat on the table. "I don't think I forgot anything."

"It doesn't look like it" I muttered, looking at everything there. "Hey, Bobby?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you acting so weird?"

"What?" Bobby asked, pausing as he reached for a couple beers in the fridge. "I ain't acting weird!"

"Actually, you are."

"Don't badger me, girl." Bobby grumbled, sitting down at the table.

"I don't have have to make this chili, you know," I countered, raising an eyebrow at him.

When he didn't speak, I realized I wasn't about to get any more information out of him, and began cutting up a couple onions at the table. A few hours later, with Bobby disappearing into the basement every so often, while I took those moments to run to the bathroom and gag without him hearing.

This morning sickness was really starting to get on my nerves.

I'd gotten a few texts from Dean when he and Sam took a break from driving, asking how I was, telling me that they were fine and almost there. Reading his words gave me some comfort, but I couldn't help the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. By the time the food was done cooking, the sun was beginning to set, and Bobby and I sat down in the living room with our bowls, him on his recliner and me on the couch, my knees tucked and my feet curled to my left.

"Why'd Dean drag you here?" Bobby asked out of the blue.

"What?" I asked, mid-chew.

"It's pretty damn obvious you didn't want to come."

"So you didn't tell him that you missed my cooking?"

"No. He was too busy yelling at me about Sam."

"I knew it," I shook my head. That little liar.

"So what's got him so worried?"

"Uh..." I trailed off, placing my bowl down on my lap.

"Remember the last time you kept a secret from me?" Bobby asked pointedly.

"Yeah, Dean almost got his jaw broken," I murmured, remembering that night.

* * *

 **SINGER SALVAGE YARD – NIGHTNine years ago**

"Come on," Dean coaxed, grabbing my hand, gently pulling me towards the very back of Bobby's property.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"Dean-"

"Just come on." Dean said, shooting me a smile.

That was all it took to get me to follow him with no problem, and a few minutes later, Bobby's house was no longer in sight and we came up to an old pick-up truck, the moonlight shining down on the bed that was lined with thick blankets.

"Wh-"

"Like it?"

"Yeah, I- why'd you do this?"

"I just figured that we've been here for a while now...we could use some time away, spend some time alone."

I smiled, glancing behind me before placing a kiss on his lips. "That's sweet."

"Tori, we don't have to worry about looking over our shoulders every two seconds."

'Yeah. It's just- it's habit, I guess," I mumbled, hating how true that had become.

"I know," Dean nodded, tucking lock of hair behind my ear. "It'll be okay."

I nodded. "Yeah."

Dean sighed."Come on, don't do that now,"

"Do what?"

"Get all mopey."

"I'm not mopey," I argued, placing my hands on my hips.

"Not yet. And I'm not about to let you get there." Dean grinned, picking me up in one swoop, setting me on the bed of the truck. I wrapped my arms around his neck, parting my knees so he could stand in between my legs.

"I know why you _really_ did all of this," I mumbled.

"Oh, yeah? Why?"

"You wanna get laid."

Dean scoffed. "That's ridiculous."

"Is it?"

"I just want to be able to hold you without worrying about Bobby."

"Uh-huh." I murmured, raising an eyebrow, a smirk on my lips. "So, sex has nothing to do with this."

"No!" Dean insisted, a sheepish look in his eyes. "I mean, it'd be a bonus..."

"And the truth finally comes out." I chuckled.

Dean grinned, looking down into my eyes. "I can't help myself when I'm around you."

"Me either." I murmured, my lower half beginning to tingle as I looked into his bright green eyes.

"Lucky me." Dean smiled, placing his lips on mine, kissing me passionately.

As Dean gently laid me back on the plus blankets, his body hovering over mine, the same butterflies filled my stomach as they did every time Dean and I made love.

My eyes fluttered shut as Dean trailed kisses down my neck and chest, his hardness pressed against my stomach. I bit my lip, running my hands through his hair, my breathing coming out heavier with each passing second.

Allowing me to move, Dean leaned back on his knees, watching me closely as I leaned up, pulling my shirt off, throwing it over to the corner. Dean ripped his own shirt off, leaning up to place a kiss on my lips as he unclasped my bra, pulling it off. The cold air hit my skin, sending a chill down my spine. Dean shot me a small smile as he laid down to my side, pulling the blanket over us.

I ran my hands through his hair as his hand trailed down my stomach, unbuttoning my jeans before moving underneath the fabric. I let out a low moan at the contact, my eyes involuntarily closing as Dean began kissing my neck, the sensations of his skin against mine, making my mind drift away. The sound of shotgun cocking in the distance caught my attention and I looked around.

"It's probably just a hunter." Dean mumbled against my skin.

"Yeah, what kind?"

Dean chuckled, stilling his hand's movements for a moment. "The moose kind."

"Well, if that's all it is, why are you stopping?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Dean grinned down at me, beginning to work his magic again and I shut my eyes, biting my lip to keep my moan in.

Suddenly, a bright light shined through my shut eyelids, and I snapped them open to see Bobby standing at the side of the truck's bed, a flashlight in one hand, a shotgun in the other and a furious look on his face. Bobby gritted his teeth, grabbing Dean by the arm, pulling him out of the truck and onto the ground.

"You- you- Christ, what is the matter with you boy?!" Bobby shouted, pointing the shotgun towards Dean as he scrambled to his feet.

I quickly wrapped the blanket around myself, sitting upright. "Bobby-"

"Don't. I'll deal with you later," Bobby spat, glaring back at Dean.

Dean swallowed hard, fear in his eyes as he stared down the barrel of the gun, holding his hands up.

"You know, I know what you do to all those other women. How you use 'em. And I don't say a damn thing, 'cause I'm not their daddy. But I'll be damned if I let you do that to her!"

"This isn't what it looks like, Bobby, I swear."

"I may be old, but I'm not stupid, boy! I know exactly what that was!"

"No, you don't- Bobby, you really don't get it, Tori wanted to do this!"

I cringed at Dean's words, knowing he was only digging himself deeper. Bobby growled, throwing the shotgun down, opting to grab Dean by the side of his neck, holding onto him. "You're just begging for an ass whooping now."

"Bobby, just listen-"

"You know, Vic, I figured you thought more of yourself than this," Bobby said, turning to look at me.

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked, looking offended.

"Shut it," Bobby snapped at him.

I shook my head. "Bobby, please-"

"You too," he snapped.

"Bobby this isn't- this isn't just something, I swear," Dean explained, trying to convince him.

Bobby, whirled around . "Oh, yeah? Your track record, why should I believe that?"

"Be- becau-"

"If you say because, so help me- that ain't good enough!"

"Just give me a chance to speak!" Dean exclaimed. "If you don't like what I say, then you can still beat the shit out of me. Deal?"

Bobby thought it over for a moment, before pushing Dean out of his grasp. "You got thirty seconds."

"Thirty?"

"Twenty-eight."

"Okay, okay. Tori and I have been doing this for while now-"

"Times up," Bobby glared, taking a step forward.

"No, no, no, just wait." Dean called, holding his hands up. "This isn't just some fling. I'm not using her, you think she'd ever let me do that?"

"Fuck no," I chimed in.

"Exactly. She'd cut my junk off for even suggesting that."

"What are you saying?" Bobby asked, looking between the two of us.

"What I'm saying is that I- I really care about her, Bobby," Dean muttered, keeping his eyes on the ground. "But not like that...not like I'm _supposed_ to."

Bobby took a second, letting that information sink in as he pulled in a deep breath. "Are you telling me you two are... _together_?"

Dean nodded, not saying another word. I kept quiet, too, looking at Dean with sad eyes.

This was it. This was the moment everything ended. If we were lucky, Bobby would only threaten to tell John, but we would still have to stop whatever it is we had here. It would have to end. Tears filled my eyes at the thought, and I looked down to the blanket wrapped around me, not wanting Dean to see me cry.

"Tori, don't," Dean murmured, making his way past Bobby and over to me. Of course he knew I was crying. I should've known better than to think I could hide it from him. I sniffled as he wiped a tear off my cheek, shooting me a small smile even though his eyes were filled with sadness.

I looked over to Bobby, seeing him staring at us with a furrowed brow. "How long has this been going on?"

"About a year," Dean replied.

"That long?"

"Yup."

"Does Sam know?"

"I don't think so. If he does, he hasn't said."

"Does your _daddy_ know?"

Dean's jaw clenched, and he shook his head."No."

"You've managed to keep a secret like this from one of the best damn hunters in the world for a year?"

"Two of them. We kept it from you, too," I mumbled, looking up at him as he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Why?"

"Why? You really think Dad would be okay with this? You don't know how many times he told me to keep my hands off of her or he'd..." Dean trailed off, glancing up at Bobby. "I'm sure you get the picture."

"Are you gonna tell him?" I asked, my voice sounding anxious. "Are you gonna tell John?"

Bobby watched us for a moment, pulling in a deep breath, slowly letting it out as he shook his head. "I don't think so."

I looked up at him, my face full of shock and surprise. "What?"

"I'm ain't gonna tell him."

"You're kidding," Dean mumbled, looking as though he didn't believe him, the both of us sharing a look of disbelief.

"It ain't any of my business."

"But you saw-"

"Saw, what?" Bobby asked, shrugging his shoulders. "I didn't see a damn thing."

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face, relief flowing through my chest. "Bobby-"

"And I want to continue to not see a damn thing, you hear me? When you're under my roof, nothing happens, we clear?"

"Yeah," Dean said as I nodded.

"Good. Now put your damn clothes on, get inside and go to sleep," Bobby said, shaking his head. "In separate beds."

Dean nodded. "Sure, yeah."

"Now," Bobby ordered, and turned around, and walked away.

"Bobby," I called, a small smile on my face as he turned around. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. Enough with the chick-flick stuff, huh?" Bobby complained, turning on his heel to head back towards the house.

* * *

 **Present**

"That night you found Dean and I, why'd you decide not to say anything to John?" I asked.

"Because he was one hard-headed son of a bitch."

I sighed. "Bobby."

"I could see it in the way you kids looked at each other," he insisted.

"See what?"

"A whole lotta... _something_. Reminded me of..." Bobby trailed off. I imagined he was thinking about Karen, but I'd never be sure. He wouldn't say. "I'm pretty sure I asked you a question before."

"Oh yeah," I nodded. Well, now's good time as any to tell him. I pulled in a deep breath, preparing myself for any reaction that I may get. "I'm- I'm pregnant."

Bobby blanched."You're _what_?"

"Preg-"

"No, I heard you the first time. How long?"

"A couple months."

"Months?!" Bobby exclaimed, his eyes practically bugging out of his skull. "And you've been hunting? Are you _stupid_?"

"I don't even know why I was expecting a _congratulations,_ " I mumbled sarcastically.

"Congratulations, you're a moron!"

"Nice. Thanks a lot, you old bat."

"You've been putting yourself and that baby in danger!"

"I've been careful," I insisted, putting my hands on my stomach protectively.

"You Winchester's don't know the meaning of the word _careful_."

"Okay, that's true, but honestly, I have been."

"You can't hunt anymore, Vic," Bobby insisted, the concern finally showing through the hard look in his eyes.

"That's what Dean says," I admitted.

"Well, for once Dean Winchester is right. It's too dangerous. Have you been to the doctor?"

I shook my head. "Not yet."

"You have to go. You gotta make sure that kid's healthy."

"Wait, you think I should keep it?" I asked, looking up at him in question.

"What kinda person do you think I am?" Bobby asked, looking offended. "I wouldn't tell you to do that."

"Sam did."

"Huh?"

"When Sam found out, he said he thought I should get rid of it."

"Sam said that?" Bobby asked, dumbfounded. "Sam Winchester?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I was shocked, too."

"You know, ever since he's been back...something's wrong with that boy," Bobby muttered, shaking his head.

I scoffed. "Tell me about it."

"How does Dean feel about all this?"

"About me being pregnant?"

Bobby nodded. "Yeah."

I smiled, thinking about how he's been acting."He's- he's happy."

"Really?"

"The other day, while I was asleep, he told me he was looking up cribs online, trying to find the best ones," I smiled at the thought. "He's excited."

"And you?"

The smile faded off my face as I looked over to Bobby, allowing my emotions to show through. "I'm terrified. I don't- I mean, I want nothing more than to have this baby, but I'm afraid of the world they'll be raised in."

"The same thing could be said for anyone."

"Well, it's little different, being a hunter."

"Maybe it's better," Bobby shrugged.

"What do you mean?"

"Children are born everyday to parents who have no damn idea what's going on in this world. At least you and Dean, you take the right precautions, you do the right things to protect your family. Because you know what's out there," Bobby said. I nodded, letting his words sink in. Maybe he was right.

Just then my phone began to ring, I picked it up, seeing Dean's name flash across the screen, I answered it. "Hey, baby."

" _Hey, Cherry Pie. We're in Wisconsin._ "

"How's everything?"

" _Well, uh, not good. The body count's up to six now. Is Bobby there?_ "

"Yeah," I nodded, putting the phone on speaker. "Dean is asking for you."

"What's up?" Bobby asked.

" _There have been two more killings since we left Sioux Falls. Six people, chests cracked wide open. Heart's pulled out of their bodies. No EMF, no sulfur, no hex bags. We did find this though, hold on,_ " Dean paused.

"What?"

"He sent a picture." I explained.

"That's a new one."

" _You see it?_ " Dean asked.

"Yeah" I muttered, pulling up the picture of the claw that laid on the ground, showing it to Bobby. "Here."

" _We need an ID ASAP. This thing is on a rampage. Call us as soon as you dig something up."_

"Yeah, I'll call you back." Bobby grumbled, heading over to the bookshelf, pulling a few out, placing them on his desk.

" _How's the little_ _Cowboy_?" Dean asked.

" _Cowboy_?" I asked, a smile on my lips.

" _Yeah. W- what else should we call it?_ "

"No, I like it. I'm just saying...how do you know it's a cow _boy_? Maybe it's a cow _girl_."

" _Hey, you're the one that said he_. _I'm only going by what your words_."

"Well, either way, it's adorable."

" _Yeah, okay,_ " Dean mumbled. I could practically hear his eyes roll.

"Well, our Cowboy _or_ girl, is doing pretty good, I think," I smiled, placing hand on my stomach.

" _Good,_ " Dean said, a smile in his voice.

"What about you?"

" _I'm okay. You better save some of that chili for me._ "

"Sure, yeah." I nodded, chewing on my lip. "How's Sam?"

" _He's uh, alright._ "

"Just alright?" I asked, worried.

" _Yeah. Hey, we're gonna head over to the morgue. I'll call you tonight, okay?_ "

"Okay. Love you."

" _Me too._ " Dean said, hanging up.

"Why don't you go get some sleep, Vic?" Bobby asked from the desk.

"No, I'm fine," I said, reaching for the book in his hands, pursing my lips as he pulled it away. "I'm gonna help figure out what this thing is."

"Vic-"

"More people can't die just so I can get a few hours of sleep, Bobby."

"You need to rest,"he insisted.

"If we're both doing this it'll get done faster," I pointed out. Thankfully, Bobby relented, allowing me to take the book from him.

Hours passed filled with him reading books and me scrolling through a million different lore websites on my laptop, to see what we could find out about this creature. Dean called a little while ago to ask, once again, how I was. And how the baby was. I loved how excited he was about this. I'd never get over it.

It was about ten at night by now, and I was still staring at the screen in front of me on my lap, when I heard the sound of a soft snore to my right. I looked up to see that Bobby had dozed off at his desk. I placed the laptop on the couch beside me, moving over to Bobby's side, nudging his arm.

"Bobby," I called quietly. "Bobby?"

Bobby flailed awake, his eyes going wide. "What the hell do you want?"

"You fell asleep on the desk."

"So?"

"So, you'll hurt your back. Go to bed."

"Don't tell me what to do," Bobby grumbled, pulling a bottle of pills from the desk.

"What are those?"

"Pills, genius."

I quickly grabbed the bottle out of his hand, reading the label. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Caffeine pills?"

"I've been taking these longer than you've been alive," Bobby said, snatching the bottle back.

"Why?"

"'Cause it's hard to stay alive when you're asleep."

"What are you-" I sighed, not finishing the sentence the sentence. I folded my arms across my chest. "Listen, Bobby, I'm here. I've got it."

"Uh-huh," Bobby mumbled, downing a couple pills with a gulp of beer.

I rolled my eyes, letting out a huff. "Are you serious right now?"

"Why don't you make yourself useful and go make me a pot of coffee, okay?"

" _Make myself useful_?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've already figured out what the boys are hunting."

"What?" Bobby asked, looking at me in disbelief.

"Yeah, that's right, you sexist jerk."

Bobby rolled his eyes, taking in a deep breath. "Vic, you're one of the best hunters out there. You know I didn't mean that."

" _Uh-huh,_ " I mumbled.

"What'd you find?"

"It's a Lamia."

"A Lamia? That's impossible. They never pop up outside of Greece."

"Yeah, well, first time for everything," I said, bringing my laptop over to the desk, placing it in front of him, showing him the picture I'd found of the claw, pulling up the one Dean had sent. "They look the same. Not to mention Lamia's crack open their victim's chest, pulls out the heart and chugs the blood."

"Okay, then." Bobby nodded proudly. "Good job."

"Thanks." I smiled. "One thing I'm having trouble finding is how to kill it."

"There are a couple ways. Easiest is a silver knife blessed by a _padre_."

"Great. I'll tell Dean." I nodded, pulling out my phone as Bobby stood to his feet with a yawn, heading towards the doorway. "Going to sleep?"

"There's something I gotta take care of down in the basement first. An old leaky pipe I've been fixing."

"Want me to do it?"

Bobby's whirled around, his eyes wide. "Don't go down there."

I furrowed my brow. "Why?"

"Because I said not to."

"That doesn't work, Bobby. I'm twenty-eight."

"Just don't, alright?" Bobby asked, walking over towards the basement door.

"Fine." I shrugged. I'd just wait until he's asleep and sneak down there.

"And don't think about sneaking down there, I'm sleeping on the couch and I will catch you!" Bobby called out from the other room. I let out a huff, folding my arms.

* * *

After hanging up the phone with Dean, I headed upstairs and changed into a t-shirt and some shorts before laying in bed. Allowing my mind to catch up to how tired my body was feeling, I was out of it within minutes. Loud knocking coming from downstairs woke me up to the sun shining through the window across the room. I stretched as I got up, making my way downstairs to see Bobby answering the door, a blonde woman standing on the other side holding a tray.

"Marcy?" Bobby asked. I lingered at the top of the stairs, watching the interaction below me.

"Bobby Singer. How long have we been neighbors?" She asked.

"Uh...six months?" Bobby very obviously guessed.

"Well, don't you think it's time you welcomed me to the neighborhood?" Marcy asked, uncovering the pan, handing it over to Bobby. "My famous ginger peach cobbler. Take a whiff. Seriously, I'm a genius."

Suddenly, a loud scream came from the basement and Macy looked behind Bobby with wide eyes. Bobby glanced back, seeing me standing there, he turned to Marcy. "It's stupid horror flicks. Guilty pleasure."

Marcy's face brightened. "I love scary movies. Hey, have you seen _Drag Me To Hell_?"

"Trying to avoid it."

"But it's fantastic." Marcy paused, taking a deep breath. "Saturday, seven o'clock, my house. I'll fix you dinner and I'll whip up a batch of my famous white chocolate popcorn and we'll watch it. Deal?"

Bobby hesitated. "That sounds super, Marcy, but uh-"

"Okay, no worries," Marcy mumbled, glancing down. "Um, hey, one other thing. Uh, my wood chipper – it's a piece of crap, you know. It just broke down on me and – and I hear that you're quite handy. Maybe you could come over and take a look. You know, just whenever-"

Bobby nodded. "Yeah. I'll see what I can do."

"Okay," Marcy smiled, shaking his hand, holding onto it for a little longer than necessary. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye," Bobby said, watching her walk away. While he was distracted, I took the chance and rushed down the steps over to the basement door, and just as I got it open, I heard the front door slam. "Close it!" he yelled.

I turned around to face him. "What's going on, Bobby?"

"Vic-"

"Tell me." I demanded.

"There's a demon down there," Bobby confessed. "A crossroads demon, to be more specific."

"Have they been here the whole time _I've_ been here?"

Bobby nodded. "Yes."

"So that's why I've been feeling this way."

"Nauseous?"

"I thought it was morning sickness, but I guess it's-"

"Your demon sense," Bobby finished.

"Yeah, sure." I rolled my eyes. "Why is there a demon here?"

"Crowley."

"Crowley is down there?"

"No, keep up."

"With what? You haven't told me anything."

Bobby sighed. "It's one of his employees."

"Is this about your deal with him? Your soul? I thought he was supposed to give it back!"

"Well, he won't."

I scowled. "That slimy little prick."

"Tell me about it."

"You should've known better than to trust him, Bobby."

"Yeah, well I thought the damn world was gonna end."

"Big deal!"

"Look, I don't need you sassing me, telling me I was wrong. I already know it."

I nodded, letting out a breath. "So what are we gonna do?"

"Eat some cobbler."

My eyes practically bugged out of my head. "Are- you're joking, right?"

"No. This smells good." Bobby said, heading into the kitchen, grabbing a couple forks, placing the cobbler in the center of the table before sitting down. "Come on."

"Bobby-"

"I've had that demon here for days now and she won't give me anything."

"What do you want from her?" I asked sitting down beside him.

"Crowley's name. His _real_ name."

"Why?"

"Easy. If I have the name, I have the bones. And if I have the bones..."

"What, blackmail?"

Bobby nodded. "That's what I'm aiming for."

"And she won't tell you?"

"She doesn't want to give him up."

"Why? He's just a crossroads demon."

"Try _king_ ," Bobby said.

I snorted. "King of what, douche-land?"

"Kind of Hell."

"Excuse me?" I asked in surprise.

Bobby sighed. "Yeah, that was my reaction, too."

I folded my arms and narrowed my eyes at him. "So let me get this straight: you want to blackmail the King of Hell?"

Bobby nodded. "Yup."

"Huh. Somehow I've heard crazier," I shrugged. Bobby was about to cut a piece of cobber with his fork, stopping when I got up, heading towards the basement door.

"Where are you going?" Bobby asked, standing up. "Vic, I don't want you going down there. I don't want you to see it."

"See what? A demon?" I asked.

"No." Bobby muttered, swallowing hard. "The girl she's possessing."

"Is she still in there?"

"No, she- she's dead. She was when Ii brought the demon here. Probably has been for a while. That's why I'm doing it this way."

"Doing what, what way?" "

"I found her bones, the demon."

"And?"

"And I have a flamethrower."

I shook my head. "It won't matter, that's a myth."

"That's what I thought, too. It's not."

"It worked?" I asked in shock.

Bobby nodded. "It worked."

"And she's still not talking?"

"Not a peep."

"So let's try again."

"No, you're not going down there."

I pulled in a deep breath, shaking my head. "I'm not gonna let you go to hell, Bobby. I've let that happen to way too many people that I love. So whatever it takes, I'm gonna do it."

Without another word I opened the basement door, heading down the stairs, finding the brunette demon tied tightly to a chair in the middle of a devil's trap, her skin raised, practically dripping off her body. She smiled wide when she saw me, her red lips spread wide.

"Well, well, well. Looks like Bobby's had to call in reinforcements, huh? Not very threatening since you passed up that grace, though." She grinned in delight, glancing down to my stomach. "And you're pregnant?"

"You know what we want. Just talk."

"I think I'll wait just a little bit longer. So, what made you want to get knocked up? Or was it an accident? You gonna follow in your mommy's footsteps and give up the baby?"

Bobby stomped down the stairs at that, glaring at the demon. "Shut it."

The demon smirked. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I hit a sore spot? I guess that would be your grand-baby, after all, huh? You'll spoil it. Maybe that'll make up for the fact that you denied your wife a baby...then stabbed her to death. At least, that's what you're hoping, right?"

"You bitch," I spat, about to take a step towards her when Bobby stopped me, gently pulled me back.

"Let me handle this," He murmured, and strolled over to a table where a flamethrower was laying on it's side, picking it up. I watched he lit the flame thrower, pointing it to the metal tub in the corner of the room where her bones sat, pressing the trigger.

The heat from the flame hit me as the metal tub turned bright red on the bottom and the demon threw her head back and began screaming, her skin bubbling up. .

"I want Crowley's name now!" Bobby shouted.

"Okay!" The demon screamed, panting as he stopped. "Okay. MacLeod. Fergus MacLeod."

" _Fergus MacLeod_?" I asked, my nose scrunching.

"I swear. It is. We call him _Lucky the Leprechaun_ behind his back."

"MacLeod's Scottish, Einstein," I commented.

"You got what you want, now send me back," The demon panted.

"I don't think so." I glared at her, grabbing a can of lighter fluid off the desk, making my way over to the tub, pouring it on her bones.

"No!" She screamed at me. "We had a deal!"

"Well, I wasn't part of it."

She looked over to Bobby in panic. "We had a deal, Singer."

"I gave it my best effort." Bobby shrugged, pressing the trigger on the flamethrower again, torching her bones. The demon screamed in pain again, her body going limp.

After that, Bobby and I headed back upstairs where he grabbed a map of Scotland, spreading it out across the kitchen table.

"So, you're gonna find his bones?" I asked.

"I am," Bobby nodded.

"Hasn't he been dead for like, ever?"

"Probably."

I smiled and patted his back. "I'm assuming that won't stop you."

"Nope." Bobby muttered with a grin as the phone rang. He checked the caller ID before answering. "Yeah Garth, what do you got?" Bobby paused, listening the man. I heard a very faint, fast paced voice on the other end. "Never heard of a vamp doing that. It doesn't sound like our kind of thing. Better drop a dime to the FBI."

As Bobby hung up, I looked up at him from the map. "Is that what you do all day? Answer hunter's calls?"

Bobby snorted. "What, you think you and those boys are the one ones who bothers me?"

I chuckled. "Actually, yeah."

"Well-" Bobby was interrupted by another one of his phone's ringing. As he answered it, I saw a label on it that read 'FBI Tom Willis'. "Willis, FBI. No Garth, not _me_ , _the FB_ I, the real FBI! How are you still alive?"

"Who is that?" I asked as he threw the phone down.

"Garth. Another hunter."

"Huh," I mumbled as another phone rang. "Jesus Christ."

Bobby let out a huff, answering the phone. "Yeah, Castle." He nodded as the man spoke. "Of course she's one of ours. And if she says she's gotta dig that grave up, you better damn well let her."

"You never took this many calls years ago," I commented after he hung up.

"Well, more hunters have my number since the end of times."

"More hunters, more problems," I mumbled, placing a hand on his shoulder. "How about I make you that pot of coffee now?"

Bobby nodded, shooting me a small smile before going back to the map in front of him.

* * *

As we sat around the table drinking coffee, we hadn't gotten very far in our search for Crowley's bones. All the time we'd spend leaning over the map, we came up with nothing. Bobby had gotten a few more calls, most of which he just hung up in disgust.

Just as I got up to make another pot of coffee, a loud knock sounded on the front door. Bobby let out a huff, getting up to answer it. As soon as the door squeaked open, I heard a relieved man's voice.

"Oh, good, you're home! Listen. You gotta help me bury a body." The man said. My eyes went wide and I peered out of the kitchen, seeing Rufus Turner standing in the doorway. He saw me there, letting out a sigh. "Good, you can help."

"I can, with what?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"The body. Come on, we don't have much time," Rufus said, making his way down the steps.

Bobby glanced back at me with a roll of his eyes, shaking his head as I stepped forward. "You're not coming."

"Why not? Won't he think it's weird that I'm not doing anything?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because he doesn't know about…" I trailed off, gesturing to my stomach. "Bobby, you always said not to trust other hunters. I'm not gonna go around telling everyone I'm pregnant," I whispered the last word.

"If there's anyone you could trust to tell something like that, it's him. Believe me."

"I'm still coming," I insisted.

"Why don't you listen to me?" Bobby asked I as passed in front of him, heading outside.

I shrugged. "Because."

Bobby shut his eyes for a minute, pulling in a deep breath before making his way past me and over to Rufus. "Why'd you bring it here?"

"The law is on my tail! What was your guess?" Rufus asked, looking over to see Bobby staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "What? They got lucky,"

Bobby chuckled. "Yeah, or you're getting slow."

"Yeah, I'm getting slow - says mister sits on his ass all day taking calls," Rufus spat back. I couldn't help but smile at their banter, as abusive as it was.

The three of us reached the truck where Rufus lowered the tailgate, uncovering the dead body of an Asian woman. My eyes widened and I looked over to Bobby, glancing up to Rufus. "Is this- I mean is she- did you actually murder somebody?"

"Hell no. Who do you think I am?"

"I don't think you want me to answer that," I mumbled, earning a glare from the man.

"So what is it, a vamp, shifter - what?" Bobby asked.

"None of the above." Rufus said, pulling the woman's lips back to expose a set of sharp teeth.

"Okami?" Bobby asked in disbelief. "Where'd you shiv it?"

"Get this. Billings."

Bobby looked closer."The only time I ever saw one of these was in Japan."

"Duh. No one's ever seen one of these except in Japan."

"Well, for what it's worth, Sam and Dean are tracking a Lamia in Wisconsin."

"Get out I thought they never leave Greece," Rufus said, looking over to me. "Why aren't you with Sam and Dean? Aren't you kind of a packaged deal?"

"I'm taking the weekend off." I replied, folding my arms.

"You and Dean have a fight?"

"None of your business."

"Well, she's yours, that's for sure," Rufus complained to Bobby. "You got a shovel?"

"Better." Bobby said, walking off.

* * *

Rufus and I stood off to the side as Bobby sat in the large mechanical digger, pushing the metal scoop into the ground, creating a large rectangular hole.

"Man, I know what I want for Hanukkah," Rufus commented, glancing over at me as he leaned down on the handle of a shovel. "So, you gonna tell me why you're really here?"

I scowled. "Why do you wanna know so bad?"

"Well, excuse the hell outta me for being considerate," Rufus mumbled. I snorted, shaking my head.

"If you must know, I'll tell you, But if you breathe a word of it to anyone else, I will kill you," I threatened, sort of joking, mostly not.

"Yeah, yeah," Rufus waved me off. "I've heard that one before."

"I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant?" He asked, clearly surprised.

I put my hands on my hips. "That's what I said."

Rufus nodded. "Huh."

I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

"Nothing just...huh," Rufus shrugged.

"Why _huh_?"

"Dean never seemed like a _fatherly_ kinda guy."

"You don't know Dean."

"Well...good for you two."

This time it was my turn to be surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, really," Rufus paused, a far off look in his eyes. "Having kids is a good thing."

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Keep 'em safe, okay?"

"We will," I nodded, realizing something was wrong by the way he was acting. Though I didn't ask, not wanting to push it. The silence of the moment was a little awkward, until Bobby cut the engine of the machine, bringing me back to the present. I looked up as Bobby exited the cab.

He made his way over to the back of the truck, glancing back at Rufus, yelling over his shoulder, "Quit lollygagging! Come on, let's go. You're just itching to get thrown in the slammer, aren't you, Rufus?"

"At least I'll be away from your ugly mug!" Rufus yelled back. Rufus, Bobby and I headed back over to the bed of the truck where the body still laid.

"Just shut up and get to work." Bobby grumbled. I was about to try and help them pull it out when Rufus looked back at me.

"No, no." He shook his head. "You ain't doing this."

"What?"

"We got it, you go rest." Rufus insisted, a strangely protective look in his eyes. I watched as he and Bobby carried the body over to the grave, dropping it in with a thud.

Subconsciously, I placed a hand on my stomach, smiling at him with a nod. I guess this baby is gonna have a bigger support system than I thought.

* * *

The sun was still fairly high in the sky as I came back outside with a couple beers for Bobby and Rufus, who were still working hard, now covering up the grave, packing the dirt back in.

"Here you go guys," I said, handing them the bottles.

"Thanks, Vic," Bobby muttered, taking a swig.

"So the son of a bitch's name is _Fergus MacLeod_?" Rufus asked with a sneer.

"That's the son of a bitch's name," Bobby confirmed.

"No wonder he goes by Crowley now."

"My thoughts exactly," I chimed in.

Rufus nodded to me, looking back to Bobby. "Where are you gonna look?"

"Scotland," Bobby told him. "Crowley let it slip that he likes Craig. It's uh-"

"It's scotch. Only made and sold in a tiny area on the north tip of Caithness county. It's peaty and sharp, with a long finish of citrus and tobacco notes." Rufus paused, seeing the looks Bobby and I were giving him. He threw out his arms. "Hey, what? What am I, a heathen? I know what Craig is."

Bobby chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, I got a hunch that's where Crowley lived and died back when he was human, a few hundred years before he got the big squeeze in hell and came out a demon."

"You know, I've got contacts over there." Rufus paused, flattening out the dirt to look over at Bobby. "I can make a few calls."

Bobby rests on the shovel, looking over at Rufus. "Well, I ain't asking for no help."

"That means, yes," I mumbled, earning a glare from Bobby.

"I ain't asking for your permission," Rufus told him.

"And that means, you're welcome." I grinned as they both narrowed their eyes at me.

* * *

It didn't take long for Rufus to book it after he and Bobby finished covering up the grave, which left Bobby and I back to our own devices, trying to find Crowley's bones. As we re-entered the kitchen, Bobby was about to cut a piece of the cobbler when one of his many phones rang. Bobby let out a low sigh, picking up the phone.

"Yeah?" He asked, a slight look of worry crossing his features. "What happened to the silver knife blessed by a priest?"

Oh, no. What did they do wrong now?

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the front door, following by a booming voice. "Police!"

My eyes widened as Bobby and I shared a look. Bobby shook his head. "Balls!"

"What do we do?" I asked as he passed by me, taking a book off the desk, handing it to me, pointing to a couple paragraphs.

" _Come on, Bobby, get the lead out_!" I heard Dean call from the receiver.

"Where are you?" Bobby asked.

" _In a church,._ " I heard Dean reply, " _In a rectory_."

"Is there a kitchen?"

" _Yeah_."

"Good," Bobby muttered, handing me the phone, pointing to a page in the book. "Here, read this to him."

"Uh, okay. Dean, you there?" I asked.

" _Hey, Cherry Pie,_ " Dean murmured into the phone, a creature growing in the background. " _Mind hurrying up a little?_ "

"I'm going as fast as I can, Winchester," I snapped.

" _Sorry, only gonna get my heart ripped out of my chest, over here,_ " Dean said sarcastically.

"Find salt."

" _Salt. Okay_."

"And rosemary," I added, hearing someone pound on the door again.

"Open up, Singer," The voice yelled again. Bobby growled an expletive, stomping toward the door and opening it up.

"What do you want?" Bobby demanded.

I peered out of the living room, seeing a man standing on the porch next to Sheriff Mills, flashing an FBI badge at Bobby. "Mr. Singer. I'm Agent Adams. I believe you know Sheriff Mills."

"Yes, I do."

" _Rosemary!_ " Dean exclaimed. " _I got it_!"

"Okay, good," I nodded. "Blend the herbs."

" _Alright._ "

"Anyone else home?" I heard Agent Adams ask.

"My niece," Bobby replied.

"Niece?" Sheriff Mills asked.

"Yeah. I haven't seen her in a while. She's visiting."

"Have you seen this man?" Agent Adams asked. "Rufus Turner? A.K.A. Luther Vandros, A.K.A Ruben Studdard."

Bobby shook his head. "No, I've never seen that dick."

"Then how do you know he's a dick?"

"Lucky guess."

"Huh. Mind if we come in? Ask a couple more questions?" The agent asked. I quickly threw any suspicious looking items into the desk drawers. I leaned against the side of the desk as the three of them rounded the corner.

Sheriff Mills looked around, almost as though she knew something was going on here. When she saw me, she practically rolled her eyes. I guess I was all the confirmation she needed.

Agent Adams looked over to me, nodding to the phone. "We have some questions to ask."

I nodded, covering the receiver. "Sure, yeah. It's my mom. One second?"

"Sure."

" _What else Tori?_ " Dean asked in panic.

"Saute over high a heat. Cook well," I told him. "Okay? Great. Enjoy the roast, mom."

" _Mom?_ " I heard Dean question as I pulled the phone from my ear, hanging up.

"What's your name?" Agent Adams asked.

"Victoria."

"Alright, Victoria. Have you seen this man?" Agent Adams asked, holding up a sketch that very clearly depicted Rufus.

"Nope." I shook my head, keeping my cool.

"Funny." The agent paused, looking between Bobby and I. " 'Cause I got a couple of guys working the highway who said they saw him pull in here. Carrying a body."

"Well, that's ridiculous," Bobby said. "Look, it's workday, I gotta bring Victoria back to the airport tomorrow-"

"I just want to take a look around."

Bobby took a couple steps towards Agent Adams' direction, narrowing his eyes. "You got a warrant, sonny?"

Agent Adams took a step towards Bobby, clearly not afraid. "Do I need one, _sir_?"

I rolled my eyes at the men as Sheriff Mills patted them both on the chest, stepping in- between them.

"Okay fellas, put the rulers away. Zip up." She raised an eyebrow, looking to Agent Adams. "Look, Bobby here is a kind of a crank. And he ain't what you call a fan of big brother, but me and him, how long I been arresting you now? Ten years?"

"Thereabouts," Bobby shrugged.

"We got history," Sheriff Mills said, glancing over to me. "And little Tori, here? I haven't seen you since you were, what, about this high?" She asked, holding her hand out by her knee.

"Yeah," I nodded, smiling at her.

"So, what do you say, just let me scope the place out?" Sheriff Mills asked the agent. "That okay? You could just wait outside."

Agent Adams nodded, turning towards the door, looking back at her over his shoulder. "Five minutes."

"Why did you send him outside?" Bobby asked once he left.

"'Cause judging by how pale your _niece_ got, I didn't think you'd want him in here."

"I don't. I've got a body in the basement."

"My point."

"Yeah, but there's another one buried in the yard," I pointed out. Sheriff MIlls' eyes went wide at that.

"Damn it," She huffed, rushing to the front door to peer outside. "He's not there."

"Balls!" Bobby exclaimed.

The three of us headed outside where Agent Adams was waiting around the side of the house, nodding for us to follow him. As soon as he turned, I knew exactly where he was going, but what I didn't expect was to see the dirt in the grave completely uprooted.

"Do you mind explaining this?" He asked, turning back to us.

"What, you never had a septic tank explode on you?" Bobby asked. "I got it pretty well cleaned up, but watch where you step."

Agent Adams glanced down, checking the bottom of his shoes with a grimace before looking back up to us. "Alright, we're gonna head out."

"Okay, then."

Once they both left, Bobby practically dragged me back into the house, loading up a bag in full of knives in his kitchen. "Call Rufus."

"Alright." I nodded, taking his phone, scrolling down the contacts until I got to Rufus T, dialing it, putting the phone on speaker.

" _Hell-_ "

"Get back here!" Bobby exclaimed.

" _Get back–_ " Rufus scoffed. " _I'm two states over, Bobby. I can't._ "

"The Okami ain't dead."

" _Of course it is_."

"Then something dragged its body out of that grave," I said.

"Did you use a bamboo dagger?" Bobby asked.

" _Yeah_." Rufus replied.

"Blessed by a Shinto priest?"

" _I'm not an imbecile, Bobby_."

"Did you stab it seven times?"

Rufus hesitated a moment. " _Five times._ "

"It's seven!" Bobby exclaimed, exasperated.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's five."

"Well, clearly it's seven damn hole is empty. What was it feeding on when you found it?"

" _Single white females while they slept_ ," Rufus muttered as Bobby's eyes went wide.

"Well, I'm safe," I mumbled.

"I know who isn't," Bobby said, rushing outside. I hung up the phone, following him down the long pathway and across the street to the neighbors house where he hid behind a bush.

I crept up behind him, keeping my voice low. "What are we doing?"

"Jesus!" Bobby exclaimed, startled. "What are you doing here?"

"Did you really think I was gonna stay back there?"

"I hoped."

"Who's house is this?" I asked, realization hitting me. "Marcy?"

"Yeah."

"You know, she wouldn't be having this problem if you went on a damn date with her." I hissed.

Bobby looked over at me, his brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"It's obvious she likes you, you dummy."

"No."

"Oh, my god, Bobby, please," I rolled my eyes. "She brought you homemade cobbler. The woman wants you."

"Shut up, you idjit!" Bobby hissed quietly, watching as Marcy passed in front of the open window, closing and locking it. "Shit."

"Did it already get in?" I asked.

"Only one way to find out." Bobby said, running over to the front door, kicking it in.

"Bobby?" Marcy screamed.

"Where's your bedroom?!" he demanded.

"That way," Marcy said, pointing down the hallway with a shaking hand.

Bobby ran past her as I stepped inside, a sheepish smile on my face. "Sorry about this."

"Wha- who are you?" Marcy asked.

"A friend of Bobby's."

"What?"

"Come on," I said, attempting to pull her out of the house when she shook out of my grip.

"No, no," Marcy shook her head, moving towards the room that Bobby was all but ripping apart, searching for the Okami. "I'm trying to keep my cool but, what are you and this stranger doing in my house with a shotgun?"

"It might not seem like it now, but we're helping you," I muttered.

"Have you seen anything weird?" Bobby asked, standing to his feet after looking under the bed.

"You mean besides you two?" Marcy asked, her eyes raising to the ceiling, widening as they landed on something in the corner. I followed her gaze, seeing the Okami up there.

As it pounced, I pulled Marcy out of the way and it landed on Bobby instead, knocking him out of the window.

"Bobby!" I cried, looking back to the Okami as it began stalking towards Marcy. As quickly and gently as I could, I pushed Marcy out of the room, shutting the door just as the Okami slammed up against it.

"What is that thing?" Marcy asked in panic.

"An Okami," I said, grabbing her arm. "You have to come with me."

"I kind of don't have a choice, do I?"

"No," I shook my head, leading her outside where the sound of an engine roaring caught my attention. My eyes widened as i saw the Okami holding Bobby up against the mouth of Marcy's wood chipper, the blades turning behind him rapidly. I turned to Marcy. "Stay here, okay?"

Just as Bobby kneed the Okami in the stomach, I grabbed the monster from behind, allowing him to gain back his footing, the both of us pushing her into the blades, chuncks of flesh and spurts of blood flying out of the other end. I felt a few splatters of blood hit my face as we pushed the rest of her body though, until we couldn't anymore.

Bobby and I stepped back, exchanging a look as we breathed heavily. Bobby made his way over to the woodchipper controls, shutting the machine off. He looked up at Marcy, who I just now noticed was utterly shocked, completely covered in blood.

"I, uh, thought your woodchipper was broke," Bobby muttered. _Smooth_. I rolled my eyes.

"I just said that to get you over here," Marcy mumbled.

"Oh. Well, guess I could come over for dinner one night. Might be fun."

Marcy shook her head. "I don't think so."

Bobby shrugged, glancing back at me. "Story of my life."

* * *

From in the kitchen, I heard Bobby's phone ring, listening to his gruff voice as he answered it, leaving it on speaker. He knew I was listening.

"Yeah?" Bobby asked.

" _You still alive, huh?_ " Rufus questioned.

"Don't act so surprised."

"How about Godzilla?"

"Put her down."

"You didn't let Tori do anything, did you?"

"You can't ever really _let_ Vic do anything. She does what she wants."

"So that's a yes?"

Bobby sighed. "Yeah."

"Bobby, you- she's gotta stay safe," Rufus said, his voice nearly pleading.

"I know," Bobby mumbled.

Rufus cleared his throat. "So, you just happened to have a bamboo dagger blessed by a Shinto priest laying around?"

"Woodchipper."

"Oh. Okey dokey. Woodchipper, that- that pretty much trumps everything," Rufus muttered. "Look, listen, Bobby, thank you. I screwed up."

"Forget it. I figure I still owe you more than you owe me." Bobby mumbled.

I furrowed my brow, not sure of what he was talking about, noticing the obvious shock in Rufus's voice. " _Alrighty, then add one more thing to the list. I got a lead on your boy Crowley_."

In that moment, I forgot about pretending like I wasn't listening and made my way into the living room where Bobby shot me a knowing look. I smiled sheepishly as he grabbed a pencil and paper. "Go ahead, I'm all ears."

" _Crowley, A.K.A, Fergus Roderick Macleod. Born in Canisbay, Scotland, sixteen-sixty-one_."

"Great." Bobby nodded. "I don't know what that's gonna get me."

" _Well, then, behind door number two, Bob. Crowley had a son_."

 _God, that poor kid_. I thought to myself.

"Did he now?" Bobby asked, looking interested.

" _Yeah, by the name of Gavin. Mocced across the pond when his parents bit it._ _Captained a trading ship that went down in Massachusetts in seventeen-twenty-three. Couple of Cousteau wannabes found the wreck about thirty years ago_."

"They fish out his bones?"

" _No. No. They did find his signet ring, though. It's part of the Treasures from the Deep exhibit at the Maritime Museum at Andover._ "

"I need that ring." Bobby muttered.

" _Ooh. Are you, um- you asking for my help, Bob?_ "

Bobby glared down at the phone, gripping it tight in his hand. "I'm asking for a ring."

"Bobby," I whispered, narrowing my eyes at him.

"And-" He made a pained face. "I'd appreciate your-"

I rolled my eyes, keeping my voice low. "Just say it, Jesus."

"Help getting it," Bobby finished, looking as though he'd just run a ten-K

Rufus chuckled. " _Don't think I didn't hear Tori in the background there._ "

"Hi," I murmured sheepishly.

" _Listen, I'm way ahead of you, brother,"_ Rufus told Bobby. " _I'm headed for Andover now. I should be there about midnight. You're thinking hostage exchange, aren't you? I mean, you get the ring, you can summon Junior's ghost. You can swap Crowley his son for your soul._ "

"Something like that." Bobby nodded.

" _Let's hope that works out._ "

"Thank you, Rufus," I called out as Bobby hung up.

Bobby sighed, looking down at my blood-stained clothes. "You wanna go take a shower?"

I looked at his clothes, which weren't in a much better state than mine, shrugging. "You can first."

"No, go ahead, I'll wait to see if Rufus calls sooner."

"Okay," I nodded, making my way up the stairs.

As I got ready for my shower, I thought about the past few days, and how much Bobby really did. It seems like his work has tripled since me and the boys used to come here all the time. Or he was better at hiding it then.

Once my shower was done, I ran my fingers through my damp hair, heading back downstairs, hearing Bobby, once again, talking on the phone. "Dean? You alright?"

When Bobby saw me at the bottom of the stairs he leaned back, putting the phone on speaker so I could hear Dean. " _Yeah, the Lamia grilled up just fine_."

"I sense a but coming."

" _Tori's right._ "

"Yeah? What about now?"

" _It's Sam. He- he's just- he's different. You know, I get it. You go through something like that and – and you change, but... something's not right_." Dean finished just as Bobby's phone began to beep, signaling another call coming in.

"Dean," Bobby called, but Dean just kept talking over him.

"I _got a few questions about that year. And I'm sorry if Tori already asked them, she probably did, but I need to know. You saw him and I didn't._ "

"Dean, I got another call."

" _You, what?_ "

"Just hang on. I gotta take this, it's important."

" _More important than Sam?_ " Dean asked as Bobby switched the lines over, sirens blaring loud in the background of the call.

"Rufus?" Bobby asked.

" _The good news is, I snagged the ring,_ " Rufus muttered.

"What's the bad news?" I asked.

Bobby shook his head. "Tell me that ain't-"

" _Yeah, yeah,_ " Rufus said. " _Three guesses and one of them – it ain't the paramedics. LIsten Bobby, I gotta stash this ring._ "

"Well don't swallow it."

" _Right._ " Rufus paused. " _I'm swallowing it, Bobby!_ "

"Don't swallow it!" Bobby exclaimed.

The only thing we heard next was a loud gulp followed by very obvious glugging. " _Oh, hell_."

" _Hands where I can see them_!" The voice of who I assumed to be a police officer came though the speaker.

" _Whoa, whoa! That is unnecessary force!_ " Rufus exclaimed. " _I know my rights!_ "

With a sigh, Bobby hung up on Rufus, going back to Dean. "Still there, Dean?"

" _Bobby, what the hell?_ " Dean snapped.

"I, uh-" Bobby paused, pulling in a breath. "Sorry."

" _You know you and Tori are the one people that I can talk to about Sam. You're the only one I can talk to about- about the- the baby. I'm terrified. I don't even know which way is up right now._ " Dean paused, waiting for Bobby's reply. " _Hello?_ "

I watched as Bobby stared across the room, a glazed look in his eyes. It was almost like he forgot I was in the room. "I- I hear you son. It- it just ain't a good time."

" _Yeah, okay,_ " Dean scoffed. " _Forget it. I mean I'm baring my soul like a freaking girl here and, uh, you've got stuff to do. So that is- that's fine. That's fine, but, seriously, a little selfish. Not all about you._ "

I felt a flash of anger run through me, grabbing the phone from Bobby's hand. He looked up at me in shock, telling me I was right, that he had zoned out so much he'd completely forgotten I was even in the room.

"Where is Sam?" I spat into the receiver.

" _T- Tori?_ "

"Where is Sam?"

" _Outside._

"Get him."

" _What?_ "

"Get him. Now, Dean."

" _Alright, hang on_ ," Dean said, his voice muffled as he called for Sam.

"What are you doing?" Bobby asked.

"Either you leave the room or you hear what I'm about to say," I told him, raising an eyebrow. "Your choice."

" _Tori? You're on speaker,_ "Dean said. " _What's wrong?_ "

"You know what's wrong? Winchesters."

" _What?_ "

"Winchesters are the whiniest, most self-absorbed sons of bitches. And yes, I am including myself in this." I paused looking to Bobby. "I'm guilty, too, Bobby. I'm sorry."

Bobby shook his head. "No-"

" _Tori, what the hell is going on over there?_ " Dean asked.

" _Are you having a mood swing?_ " Sam chimed in.

"You know what? Maybe I am. But I have every damn right to! Bobby does everything for us, and does he ever complain about it? No! He just keeps going. He never stops. We're not the only ones calling asking for his help twenty times a day, you know. There are other people that he helps. A lot of them. And what does he get for it? Suspected of being an accomplice for murder, that's what!"

" _What are you talking about?_ " Dean asked. " _You-_ "

"Do I sound like I'm fucking done?" I spat, pulling in a deep breath. "Dean, I know you have issues. I know Sam has issues. I have issues." I paused, feeling myself becoming emotional, tears filling my eyes. "I don't know if you forgot, but Crowley owns Bobby's soul! Any problems we have will still be hanging around in ten years, but at this rate, Bobby won't! So how about we pull our heads out of our asses, not fuck up for once, and actually save someone we love from going to hell!"

Silence fell over the room as I breathed heavily, looking over to Bobby to see him staring at me with his mouth hanging open slightly.

I huffed, looking back down to the phone when I didn't hear a response from either of the boys. "Did you hear me?!"

" _Yes,_ " Dean answered quickly.

" _Yeah, Tori, yeah,"_ Sam muttered, fast.

"Good," I pulled in a breath.

" _What do you need us to do, Bobby?_ " Dean asked.

" _Anything, we got it,_ " Sam added.

"Anything, huh?" Bobby asked, raising his eyebrows.

" _Yeah_."

"What about taking a flight to Scotland?"

* * *

Once we'd gotten off the phone, Bobby seemed to be walking on eggshells around me, not wanting to set me off again. I told him I was fine. There had just been so much going on lately, it was only a matter of time before I blew up.

Much to his dismay, I apologized again, hugging him tightly before heading up to bed. The next morning, I headed downstairs, finding Bobby sitting at the table, a glass of whiskey in his hands.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Before you got up, I went and met Sheriff Mills."

"Why?"

"To ask if she'd extradite Rufus here."

"And?"

"And she said no. Which means there's no chance of me getting that ring, which means-"

His voice was cut off by another knock at the door, just as Bobby was about to get up, I stopped him, making my way to the door. I opened it, the shock clear on my face when I saw Sheriff Mills standing there, Rufus next to her, a smile on his face as he walked past me and into the kitchen.

"Miss me?" He asked Bobby.

"I don't understand, Bobby said you wouldn't get Rufus extradited," I muttered.

"I didn't."

"What'd you do?"

"Listen, Bobby's a good guy. You, him and those boys, you do good things." She paused, swallowing hard. "I've seen it. Anyway, he needed help, so I pulled a few strings."

"You have no idea what you just did," I told her, tears in my eyes.

"Just tell me it's good. I don't need to know any details."

"It- it's very good. Trust me."

"For some reason, I do." She nodded, shooting me a small smile.

Bobby came out from the kitchen with Rufus behind him, looking to Sheriff Mills. "How did you-"

"Don't ask. You got one hour, then I call the feds and tell them he busted out."

"Thanks."

"I lose my job over this, I am taking it out of your ass!" Sheriff Mills said, shooting him a hard look as she left.

"Please tell me the ring is still in your stomach." Bobby mumbled to Rufus, who began looking around the kitchen.

Rufus patted his pockets, fishing through them before pulling the ring out, furrowing his brow at m as I grimaced. "What?"

"I'll go boil some water," I mumbled, passing by him, going into the kitchen.

* * *

That night, everything was set up in the basement. I stood in front of the bowl, preparing for the summoning spell as Bobby finished the circle of chalk a few feet in front of me. I pulled in a deep breath, glancing over at him. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Bobby nodded.

"Okay then,." I muttered placing a few more herbs into the bowl. " _Amate spiritus oscorte tae quadaramos aramos nobiscume quarde ahpule nos chikitara_ "

With that, I threw a handful of powder at the candle, the flame flared high before falling quickly. I saw my own breath appear in front of my face, a chill running down my spine as the ghost of a young man dressed in very dated clothing flickered in front of us.

"Gavin MacLeod?" Bobby asked.

"Yes," The man nodded. "Is this hell?"

"That's gonna depend on you. You Fergus MacLeod's boy?" Bobby questioned. Gavin nodded. "Okay. We're gonna have a nice, long chat."

* * *

As I stood off behind the devil's trap painted on the ceiling, while Bobby finished up another summoning ritual, and Crowley appeared in the center of the room, looking annoyed.

"Well, you look like hammered shit," Bobby commented.

"And you're a vision, as always," Crowley mumbled, looking over to me, cocking his head to the side as he eyes very obviously trailed from my stomach to my face. "And you, Lioness. Truly radiant. Glowing, even. Are you using a new moisturizer? Essence of Winchester, perhaps?"

I grinned, gritting my teeth. "Shove it up your ass."

"Ah, yes. I nearly forgot how much of a lady you are." Crowley rolled his eyes, looking back to Bobby. "Don't we both know how this game ends? Really Bobby, you gotta know when to fold 'em."

"Word on the street is that ever since Lucifer went to the pokey, you're the big kahuna downstairs," Bobby said.

"I see you've been reading the trades."

"Trouble in paradise?" Bobby asked.

"Mate, you have no idea," Crowley mumbled, plucking a glass off of the counter, pouring a glass of a drink he'd brought himself, dropping a tablet of antacid in it. "I thought… when I got the corner office it was all going to be rainbows and two-headed puppies. But, if I'm being honest, it's been hell."

"Hell has been hell? Well, what a shame," I mumbled.

"You know what the problems with demons is?" Crowley asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"They're assholes?"

"Precisely. Evil lying prats. The whole lot of them. And stupid. Try to show them a- a new way, a better way. And what do you get? Bugger all."

I folded my arms, rolling my eyes. "You're such a revolutionary."

"I know. Eve, you get it. You know, there are some days that I think Lucifer's whole _spike anything with black eyes plan_ wasn't half bad. Feels good to get it off my chest. We should make this a thing."

"Oh, I don't think so. After we're done here, I plan on never seeing your ugly face ever again."

"Well, you certainly know how to talk dirty to a man. Anyhoo. Obviously not here for a social call. So on with it," Crowley said, looking to Bobby."

Bobby started. "I want-"

"Save you the recap. In fact I'll do the shorthand for you." Crowley interrupted, pointing at Bobby, imitating him. " _I want my soul back, idjit._ " he pointed to himself, going back to his normal voice. "'Fraid not." he pointed to Bobby again, doing an impression of his voice. " _But I'm surly and I got a beard. Gimme! Blah, blah, blah._ " He then pointed to me, speaking in a high-pitched voice. " _I hate demons, sarcastic comment._ Witty retort from yours truly," He said gesturing to himself, looking back to Bobby. "The bottom line is, you get bubkes. Are we done?"

Bobby shook his head. "Just getting started."

"Are we?"

"Yup." I nodded, looking behind me where Gavin was waiting, now walking out. Crowley was visibly surprised, quickly trying to hide his reaction.

"Gavin? Is that you? It's been so long...I love you so-" Crowley dropped the facade, beginning to laugh. "Sorry. Your soul for my boy, is that it, right? I've got to give you credit for thinking outside the box on that one, but – problem is, I loathe the little bastard. You want to torture him, just let me pull up a chair and watch. Hell, burn his bones and send him down to me and we can have a family reunion. You picked the wrong bargaining chip this time, my friend."

"Oh, he's not a bargaining chip, Crowley." I shook my head, taking a step towards the edge of the devil's trap. "See, we just had a hunch that you, brace yourself, were probably the worst father to ever walk the earth And guess what? We were right. So since Gavin hates you probably even more than you hate him, he was more than happy to tell us everything."

Crowley glared over at Gavin, his voice short. "What did you tell them, son?"

"Like she said," Gavin grinned wickedly. " _Everything_."

"We know it all now, _Fergus_ ," I said his name in a Scottish accent.

"Don't call me that." Crowley spat, angry.

"You may be king of the dirt bags here and now, but then? Then, you were nothing but a two-bit tailor who sold his soul in exchange for an extra three inches below the belt," Bobby said.

"Just trying to hit double digits," Crowley grinned.

Bobby smiled. "So, you got a glimpse behind the curtain. And?"

"And now I know where you're planted."

"Hey, Crowley?" I asked, holding the phone out on speaker. "You've got a call."

" _Hiya Crowley_ ," Dean said, a grin in his voice.

"Dean. It's been a long time. We should get together. Maybe I can help you and Victoria paint your nursery?"

Dean faltered for a moment before getting himself back on track, pulling in a breath. " _We'll have to set up a time for that when I get back._ "

"Back?"

" _Yeah. Me and Sam, we've gone international. In fact, we're in your neck of the woods Did you really used to wear a skirt?_ "

"A kilt. I had very athletic calves," Crowley swallowed hard. "What's the game?"

" _Dominoes,_ " Dean replied. " _In fact we just dug yours up_ "

Crowley shook his head, looking up to Dean. "This is ridiculous. The whole burning bones thing – it's a myth."

"I know an employee of yours who would disagree." Bobby told him.

"That's where she got to," Crowley mumbled.

"You demons. You think you're something special, but you're just spirits. Twisted, perverted, evil spirits. But, end of the day, you're nothing but ghosts with an ego," I said as Crowley clenched his jaw. "We torch your bones, you go up in flames."

" _You hear that, Crowley?_ " Dean asked the audible sound of a lighter flicking coming through the speaker. " _That's me flicking my BIC for you._ "

"Your bones for my soul," Bobby muttered as Dean continued to play with his lighter. "Going once…"

"Going twice…" I added.

"Bollocks," Crowley fumed, letting out a huff. With a wave of his hand, Bobby's contract appeared next to him and with a wave of his hand, the words on it began to erase.

"You can go ahead and leave in the part about my legs." Bobby said. Crowley rolled his eyes, but did as he was told, the paper disappearing from view. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Crowley mumbled, glancing up at the devil's trap on the ceiling. Bobby nodded, scratching a line in the paint, releasing him.

* * *

Once again, we were on the phone with Sam and Dean as they drove back to the airport. This time, in the kitchen, I sat next to Bobby, the phone on the table in between us.

"So you ready for another nine hour flight?" Bobby asked.

" _I guess_ ," Dean replied.

"What did you do, drink your way through the first one?"

" _No, he white-knuckled his way through four puke bags_ ," Sam said.

" _But at least I was sober,_ " Dean said. " _If some nutjob decided to try something, I was ready. I had a fork_."

I chuckled, beginning to feel bad that I wasn't there to comfort him. "My poor baby. I wish I could help."

" _Well, you're just gonna have to make it up to me when I get back_ ," Dean said suggestively.

"Alright, alright," Bobby grumbled. "Listen, I appreciate you kids lending a hand."

" _It's not like we had a choice,_ " Dean commented. " _Tori was about to reach through the phone and rip our throats out._ "

"If you want me to apologize, you're gonna be waiting a long time," I muttered.

" _No. You- you were right._ "

" _We take you for granted, Bobby_ ," Sam said.

" _You've been cleaning up our messes for years,_ " Dean said. " _Without you, I don't even want to think about where we would've ended up_."

Bobby hesitated for a moment, trying to hide the emotion in his eyes from me. "Okay then, let's roll credits on this chick flick. You boys have a safe flight. And, uh, try some of the local grub, I hear it's... exotic."

" _Oh yeah, no, definitely. We are. I hear they have an Olive Garden,_ " Dean said sarcastically.

I laughed, shaking my head, smiling down at the phone. "Love you guys."

" _Love you,_ " Sam muttered.

" _See you soon_ ," Dean added before hanging up.

I waited a few minutes, letting the silence take over the room before breaking it. "They're right, you know,"

"About?" Bobby asked.

"We take you for granted."

"Vic-"

"It's true, Bobby. You believe me in when practically no one else did. You were there for me, and what do I do? Only call you when I need something? That's horrible." I shook my head at myself.

"You've got your own things going on…"

"That doesn't mean I stop paying attention to the people I love and care about," I said, noticing he began looking uncomfortable with my words. "Bobby, you're gonna have to get used to this kind of praise, you know."

"Why?" Bobby asked, furrowing his brow.

"Because your grandchild will know from the moment they're born what an amazing grandfather they have. And they're gonna adore you," I said, throwing an arm around his shoulders. Bobby looked up at me, a small smile on his face as he tried to force away the tears that appeared in his eyes. "But hey, the credits have already rolled on this chick-flick, right? Let's order a meat-lovers pizza, have some cobbler and watch some baseball. How's that sound?"

Bobby chuckled, nodding. "Pretty good, Vic. Pretty good."

* * *

 **Aw so many Bobby and Tori moments here :)**

 **Long time no see, everybody! Sorry for taking forever to update, I hope everybody's doing well!**

 **Huge thanks to bookwriter123456 for helping me out with this chapter! She did a _lot_ of editing and added some great things. The reason this chapter came out so good was most definitely because of her! So, if you're looking for a new spn fic to read, you should go check out her story ****_Alternate Knowledge_** **, it's super original and I love it! :D**

 **As always thanks for reading and I hope you liked it!**

 **Twitter: phoenixwrites79Instagram: phoenixwritesfanfictionh**


	8. Live Free or Twihard

_And you should know that the lies wont hide your flaws  
_ _No sense in hiding all of yours  
_ _You gave up on your dreams along the way_

 _Good god your coming up with reasons  
_ _Good god your dragging it out  
_ _Good god its the changing of the seasons_

 _..._

 _I can fake with the best of anyone  
_ _I can fake with the best of them all  
_ _I can fake with the best of anyone  
_ _I can fake it all_

 _Who's to know if your soul will fade at all_  
 _The one you sold to fool the world_  
 _You lost your self-esteem along the way  
_...

 _And just fake it if your out of direction  
_ _Fake it if you don't belong here  
_ _Fake it if you feel like infection  
_ _You're such a fucking hypocrite_

 ** ** _Seether - Fake It_****

* * *

After their flight back from Scotland, Sam and Dean came to Sioux Falls where I was still staying with Bobby. I tried to pretend that everything was fine as we all spent time together, something we hadn't done in a while. But it was becoming painfully obvious that it wasn't fine, not at all.

Sam was jittery. He was constantly walking outside to talk on the phone. He seemed like he wanted to just bolt, but something was holding him back. He rarely spoke to me, and God knows that never would've happened before. The Sam I used to know would've wanted to ask how I was doing almost constantly, to the point of it becoming annoying. Especially with me being pregnant. He'd push for me to go see a doctor or to start taking prenatal vitamins.

But this Sam, he was distant. It was like he didn't care, not really. He looked at me with this fake compassion in his eyes. It was all so forced and he was a horrible liar.

I laid on the bed, under the covers with my hands resting on my stomach, which was beginning to grow larger. The sun shined in through the window, casting an orange glow in the darkness behind my eyelids. The bed dipped beside me and I felt a kiss being pressed against my forehead. I opened my eyes, seeing Dean there, looking down at me with a smile.

"Morning," I smiled back.

"Morning, Cherry Pie," Dean grinned, his eyes glancing down to my stomach underneath the sheets. "How's the little Cowboy?"

"Good."

"Need anything?"

"No, I'm fine," I replied, pushing myself into a sitting position. I noticed Dean was dressed in some jeans, a t-shirt and his jacket, and I raised an eyebrow at that. He hadn't gotten out of his sweatpants since the plane touched down in the U.S. "Going somewhere?"

He hesitated. "Actually, yeah. Sam found another job," Dean mumbled, not looking me in the eye.

"Where?" I asked.

Dean shrugged. "Just some small town in Illinois."

"How'd he-" I paused, remembering that it _was_ Sam after all. "What about?"

"Bunch of missing girls. Seven in six days."

My eyes went wide. "Whoa."

"Yeah."

"So he thinks it's our thing?"

"Guess so," Dean shrugged. "Hey, can't hurt to check it out, right?"

"I guess not," I muttered, standing up, heading over to the closet. "When are we leaving?"

Just as I was about to pull out my duffel bag, Dean got up and stopped me, placing a hand over mine. "You're not coming," he insisted firmly.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What?"

"Stay here where it's safe," he pleaded.

"Again?" I huffed. "Dean, Bobby is driving me nuts. If I have to hear that old geezer complain about some stupid sports game on TV one more time, I'm gonna lose it."

Dean smiled, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. "Please? Just- it''ll give me peace of mind to know that you and the baby are safe. You can't be running around out there right now."

"But-"

"Tori, we've already been over this. Can you please just stay?" Dean asked. "Please?"

"That look isn't gonna work on me, Winchester," I said, folding my arms.

Dean smirked, resting his forehead against mine, staring into my eyes. "Please?"

I huffed, rolling my eyes, pulling away from him slightly. He got me again. "Fine."

"Thank you," Dean murmured, pressing his lips to mine.

It didn't take long before things got heated, Dean's hands slid down my sides, resting on my hips as he gently pressed my back to the wall. I felt myself melt into him, my arms wrapping around the back of his neck, draping over his shoulders.

Before I knew it, most of our clothes were on the ground and I was back on the bed again, staring up at him as he smiled down at me as he pushed my knees to the side, moving in between them, positioning himself. I let out a moan at the contact, biting my lip as I smiled up at him. Dean rested his hands on the bed beside my arms, leaning down to place a kiss on my lips as he rocked his hips back and forth.

"Dean?!" Sam called, suddenly barging into the room. I let out a small squeak, throwing the sheets over the both of us as best I could as Sam just stood there, almost like he had no clue that he should leave. He rolled his eyes. "Oh, god."

"Dude!" Dean shouted, shooting his brother a wide-eyed, _what the fuck_ look.

"Just hurry up, we're wasting daylight," Sam grumbled, turning around, shutting the door.

"What the fuck was that?" I huffed. "He just- I mean, was that- What?"

Dean just shook his head, huffing as he moved back, slipping out of me. "Well, that was a mood kill. Just when I thought I was gonna get some."

"Dean, you've been _getting some_ since you got back into the country. Remember, we did pick you up at the airport. And we did that thing in that place…" I trailed off with a smirk.

"Oh yeah," Dean thought about it for a moment, grinning down at me. "That was fun."

"Listen, if you have to go-"

"Fuck Sam, I don't have to go anywhere," Dean mumbled, bending back down to kiss me again.

I put my hands on his shoulders, pulling him to me. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

By the time Dean and Sam were about to leave it was nearly time for lunch, something Sam wasn't too happy about. I'm not sure why he was in such a rush all of a sudden. I mean sure, he hated when Dean and I fooled around when we had other stuff to do, but you think he'd be used to it by now.

"You be careful, okay?" I told the boys, standing in the opening of the door. Sam just nodded, heading over to the car. I looked to Dean. "Please, be careful."

"Always am," Dean nodded. smirking.

"Come back to me."

"You know it," Dean smiled, placing a loving kiss on my lips before leaving, making his way to the Impala where Sam was already sitting in the backseat. I let out a heavy breath, heading back inside with Bobby once the boys were out of view.

"What do you want for lunch?" I asked from the kitchen.

"Why don't you go sit down?" Bobby suggested, entering the kitchen.

"How will we eat then?"

"I'll whip something up."

"You? Cook?" I asked, letting out a snort.

Bobby paused halfway reaching into the fridge for a beer, grimacing at me. "I can cook. How do you think I survived before you got here?"

"Downing bottles of caffeine pills, drinking ten pots of coffee and, like, eight cases of beer a day with the occasional canned... _thing_ or greasy fast food meal thrown in every once and awhile," I rattled off all in one breath.

"...you think you're so smart," Bobby grumbled as he grabbed a bottle of beer, popping the cap off on the counter before heading back out into the living room. "Idjit."

"I heard that."

"Yeah, yeah."

"I'll make some sandwiches," I said, turning towards the fridge to pull out the lunch meat I bought the other day. When I was done, I put a few chips on Bobby's plate before bringing it out to him.

"Thanks," Bobby shot me a small, thankful smile, popping a couple chips into his mouth.

"Anytime," I grinned, heading back into the kitchen to get my own sandwich and a can of soda. I sat on the couch, flicking around the TV stations for a bit as we both ate, when a thought popped into my mind. "Hey, you know, I never told you who I ran into at the store the other day…"

"Who?" Bobby asked from his desk, barely looking up from the book he was reading while he took another swig of his beer.

"Sheriff Mills."

Bobby began to sputter on the sip he'd just taken, glancing up at me with wide eyes. "Oh."

I laughed, realization suddenly coming to me."Oh. Oh, my god. You like her!" I exclaimed, a big smile on my lips.

"No, I don't," Bobby denied , taking a mouthful of beer.

"Bull, you totally do. Hey, it's been some time since her husband…" I trailed off. "Anyway, she's a really chill person-"

"Vic, no."

"She knows about the life. You guys would look cute together," I insisted.

"Vic," Bobby shook his head. "She wouldn't-"

"Wouldn't, what? Like you? Bobby, she blushed just talking about you."

"She talked about me?" Bobby asked, clearly taken a-back.

I nodded. "Uh-huh."

For a moment, Bobby nearly began to smile when he quickly forced the grin to fade from his face. "Alright, what are we, two thirteen year old girls?"

"Bobby, there's nothing wrong with liking someone."

"Not at my age," he grumbled, taking another bite of his sandwich, "And I got my own shit to worry about here. Like you Winchesters. You three idjits need all my attention, or else you'd be dead by now. I don't need anybody else to worry about."

"I don't think you'd have to do much worrying with her. She's tough. She'd be good for you," I insisted.

"Alright, let's drop it."

"Somebody's in denial," I mumbled, an eyebrow raised as I took another bite of my sandwich, turning back to the TV while Bobby grumbled to himself.

Quite a few hours had passed, with a couple calls from Dean here and there telling me that they we doing good. I ordered pizza for dinner because I didn't feel like cooking. I was way too anxious, and I couldn't seem to shake the strange feeling.

The last call I'd gotten was just before I was about to go to bed. Dean told me they'd made it to Limestone, Illinois and had booked a motel room. He kept insisting that he was fine, that everything would be okay. I kept repeating those words in my head, which was the only way I got to sleep that night despite the anxiety bubbling in my stomach.

Before I knew it, the sun was out again and I was awake. As much as I missed the boys, I had to admit that it was nice to wake up on my own accord again. I didn't have to worry about getting up at the asscrack of dawn to head out and do research.

As I headed downstairs, still in my pajamas, I saw that Bobby was already awake and making some coffee.

"Morning," I muttered.

"Morning," Bobby replied, shutting the lid on the coffee maker.

"Want any breakfast? Eggs?"

"Sounds good. Need help?"

"Nah, I'd rather not have the house burned down," I teased. Bobby rolled his eyes, heading out into the living room.

With that, I began making some breakfast, cracking a few eggs into a skillet, letting them cook for a bit. The smell of the eggs wafted into my nose and suddenly my stomach churned and I felt the bile rise in my throat. I rushed to the downstairs bathroom, pulling my hair back as I retched into the toilet.

My stomach was fairly empty, so I just mostly ended up dry-heaving until my stomach calmed down. I leaned back on my thighs, letting out a heavy breath.

"You alright in there?" Bobby asked from the other side of the shut door.

"I'm fine, thanks," I told him. Just then, my phone began to ring. I pulled it out of my pocket, seeing Dean's name flash across the screen. I answered. "Hey baby."

" _What's wrong?_ " Dean asked immediately.

"Nothing. I just got a little sick. How's everything with you?"

" _Alright. What do you know about vampires?_ "

"Wh- is that a trick question?" I grumbled, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand as I stood up.

" _No, no_ ," Dean chuckled. " _What do you know about, uh, teenage vampires. Like, fictional ones...that sparkle._ "

"Spark- are you talking about tha _t My Summer Blood_ series? Dean, I just threw up, please don't talk about stuff that's gonna make me get sick again."

" _Listen to this_ , ' _he could hear the blood rushing inside her, almost taste it. He tried desperately to control himself_... _Romero knew their love was impossible'_ ," Dean read. " _This is a national bestseller. How is that possible?_ "

"All the girls _love_ Romero."

" _Yeah_ ," Dean scoffed. " _Romero? Really? What kinda name is that?_ "

"Ask the author. The idea came to her in a dream."

" _Wait, so you're telling me this middle-aged woman had a dream involving two teenagers and decided to write a book about it?_ "

"Pretty much," I nodded, wiping my hand against my mouth, moving back to rest against the sink.

" _And she made millions_."

"Exactly."

" _Fuck, I'm in the wrong business._ "

"Please tell me you didn't call just to quote My Summer Blood," I sighed.

" _God, no. We think it's connected_."

"To the case? How?"

" _Not sure yet. The last girl that went missing, we're in her room. And- it's just- there's vampire crap everywhere. Books, posters. Have you seen these pictures? He's watching her sleep, how is that not rape-y?_ "

"I've watched you sleep," I admitted, hearing a moment of silence on the other end.

" _...what_?"

"You're a lot easier to look at when you're not moving," I joked with a monotone voice.

" _Oh, ha. Ha_ ," Dean mumbled. I could practically _hear_ his eyes roll through the phone. " _If you had to guess, what's her password?_ "

"Well, who's on the posters in her room?"

" _A super pale, constipated looking dude_."

"Yup, okay. Try _Pattinson_." I suggested, hearing Dean repeat the name to Sam as I exited the bathroom. "Get in?"

" _Yup_ ," Dean replied.

"Good," I nodded.

" _Well, her inbox is full, from some guy claiming to be a vampire,_ " Sam chimed in.

" _A real vampire?_ " Dean asked.

" _Well, he told her, 'I can only meet you at night. I don't trust myself with you. The call of your blood is too strong'_ ," Sam read.

"Vampires fishing for victims?" I wondered aloud as I pulled one of the spare, unopened toothbrushes from the drawer and the tube of toothpaste that sat on the counter, squirting a strip onto the bristles of the brush.

Dean sighed. " _Probably just a human mouth-breather, right?_ "

" _On the other hand, talk about easy prey_ ," Sam mumbled.

" _For actual vamps_ ," Dean agreed.

"Makes sense," I mumbled around my toothbrush. "All these teenage girls desperate for romance would just start throwing themselves at you, and all you gotta do is write bad poetry."

" _That easy, huh?_ " Dean teased.

"Don't even," I grinned.

" _Wow_ ," Sam interjected. " _This guy wanted to meet her at a place called The Black Rose_."

" _Gimme a break_ ," Dean complained.

" _Just reporting the news_."

" _It's probably just your standard issue perv, right?_ "

As I exited the bathroom, I was whacked in the face with a cloud of smoke and rushed to the kitchen, to find Bobby standing there, holding a spatula in one hand a the skillet in the other, three little black, burt dots inside where the eggs used to be.

"What happened in here!" I yelled, putting the phone on counter. I could faintly hear Dean asking what was wrong, but I ignored it, instead covering my nose and rushing to the window, opening it with a grunt.

"I tried to finish breakfast," Bobby explained with a shrug.

" _Tori?! Tori?_!" Dean's muffled voice called through the receiver.

I sighed, rolling my eyes at Bobby before I picked the phone back up. "Dean, everything's okay."

" _What happened_?!" he demanded. " _Are you okay_?"

"I'm fine," I sighed. "Bobby about burned the house down using using the stove, but I'm okay. Honestly, I don't know how he lasted this long by himself." Bobby glared at me, walking over to the trashcan and started to scrape the burnt crisps off the frying pan. "I think I need to go, guys," I told Sam and Dean.

" _Okay,_ " Dean said, still sounding uneasy. " _I'll call you later_."

"Love you."

" _I know,_ " Dean replied, a smile in his voice, before he and Sam said their goodbyes.

I hung up, taking the skillet from Bobby, throwing it in the sink. I smiled at him. "Thanks."

Bobby nodded. "Yeah."

* * *

By the time we'd gotten the kitchen cleaned up, I just decided to run out to the local diner to pick up some food, while Bobby stayed back to take his hunter-calls like always. As I drove one of his cars down the highway, my head started to pound but I ignored it. I parked the car in front of the diner, making my way inside to order the food.

Just as I finished my order, the constant ringing in my ears began to blare so loudly that I had to sit down. The woman behind the counter noticed this and quickly asked if I was alright, getting me a cold glass of water.

My paranoia began to take over then, and I looked around me, worried that there were nothing but angels in here. That made me more uneasy than any monster out there. I turned back to the counter to take a sip of my water, trying to calm myself down, when I felt a light hand touch my shoulder. I jumped about ten feet in the air, instantly relaxing when I saw Cas standing there.

"Jesus Christ, Cas," I breathed, placing a hand over my chest.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Cas apologized..

"Aren't you busy up there?" I asked. "What are you doing down here?"

"I sensed that you were...distressed." He indicated the seat next to me. "May I sit?"

"Oh, yeah,"I nodded. "And thanks."

"Of course."

"Are there-" I paused, lowering my voice. "Are there other angels here?"

He shook his head."No."

"Then why-"

"Heaven is in disarray."

"So…"

"So you have a- a bad connection," Cas explained.

"Great. That's just what I need right now," I sighed.

Cas paused, glancing out the window for a moment before back at me. "How are you?"

"Fine," I told him, fiddling with my glass..

Castiel tilted his head to the side in question. "Are you really?"

"Yes."

"Lying to me is futile, Victoria."

I huffed. "I'm worried, that's all."

"About?"

I sighed. "Sam. He's not himself."

"He was in the cage with Lucifer for an extended period of time," he reminded me.

"Cas!" I hissed, my eyes widening as the man sitting a few stools down from us shot us a weirded out look. I smiled at the man. "Theoretically speaking, obviously," I laughed. "He's an assistant and his boss is a real jerk."

"Yes, what she said. Definitely not the real Lucifer," Cas muttered to the man, who looked at us even more strangely before turning away, his eyes widening as he went.

"Try to keep it down okay?" I hissed, leaning forward. "We don't need to be scaring the normies."

" _Normies_?"

"Normal people. You know, people who don't hunt. People who aren't...angels."

"Ah."

The older waitress came over then with our two plates of breakfast in to-go containers, placing them in a big bag as I paid for the food. I took the bag and headed outside, Castiel trailing behind me as I went.

Once outside, I turned to face him. "Can I ask a favor?"

"Yes."

"Can you check on the baby?"

"Of course," Cas nodded, gently placing a hand on my stomach, his eyes moving towards the ground as he concentrated. A moment later, his hand dropped and he looked back up at me.

"Is- is it okay?"

He smiled softly. "Yes. Your baby is fine. Still healthy, still growing."

Relief moved through me then, and I let out a heavy breath. "Thank god."

"Will you be alright going back to Bobby's?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "You want to come with?"

Cas looked away. "I have to go."

"Oh. Okay," I said, trying to keep the disappointment from my voice. I wasn't sure why, but I really wanted him around without Dean being here. He comforted me. "But, Cas? Can I-"

"What?" Cas asked, furrowing his brow.

"I just-" I stopped, pulling him in for a hug. "Thank you."

Cas wrapped his arms around me, albeit a little awkwardly, hugging me back. "You're welcome, Victoria."

In the next second, he was gone, and I nearly fell to the ground as the weight I was leaning against disappeared. I let out a huff as I righted myself, shaking my head.

"You'll learn eventually, Cas," I chuckled under my breath, getting into the car.

* * *

The day had all but passed, it was dark out now and I hadn't heard another word from Dean since a little before four in the afternoon. I knew I shouldn't be, but I was worried. I couldn't help it. My mind seemed to always go to the worst possible scenario in any given situation.

After I'd gotten changed for bed, I plugged my phone in by the nightstand. As I sat back on the bed, I decided to try calling Dean one more time, to no avail. Bobby told me he probably just forgot to charge it, but that wasn't Dean.

I'd only been sleeping for a few hours when a noise in the corner of the room woke me up. I looked over to the corner of the room, seeing a figure standing there. Immediately, I grabbed the gun I had shoved underneath the mattress, pointing it at the shadowy outline.

"Tori," I heard Dean mumble. I furrowed my brow in confusion, reaching over to the nightstand to flick on the lamp. As the light illuminated the room, I saw Dean flinch away from the brightness as he stood there, his back pressed to the corner of the room.

"Dean?" I called, breathing heavily.

"Hey," Dean muttered, sitting on the corner of the bed.

"What- how did you…" I trailed off, silently pulling the silver blade off the nightstand.

"I'm not a shapeshifter."

"Bullshit," I spat, touching the blade to his arm. To my surprise, nothing happened. He wasn't hurt by it. Dean quickly stood, moving away from me.

"It's not," He mumbled, tears forming in his eyes as he looked at me. Seeing those green orbs, I knew. This was definitely _my_ Dean. But something was wrong.

"Dean, what's wrong?" I asked, my pulse quickening.

His voice cracked when he spoke. "I just wanted to see you," Dean said quietly, his voice cracking. "And I wanted to- to thank you. I didn't do that last time and I-"

"Baby, what's going on?" I pressed, tears pooling in my eyes at the tone of his voice.

"I didn't thank you last time and I-"

With him not being straightforward, it didn't take long for a tinge of anger to flare inside of me. "Stop it. Tell me now. What is going on?"

"I can hear it," Dean mumbled sadly.

"Hear what?"

"The heartbeat."

"What? Did you take a hit of acid or something? Where is Sam?" I demanded.

"Illinois."

"Is that why you didn't answer me, you've been driving high or something?"

He shook his head. "Believe me, I wish that was it."

"Dean, I swear to god, you better tell me what's going on," I said, standing up.

"I- I fucked up, Tor," Dean said, moving away from me with each step I took towards him. "I fucked up big time and I- I have to go."

"You're not going anywhere, Dean. Not like this. Not until you tell me what's wrong," I insisted.

"I just- I love you, Cherry Pie," Dean forced a smile, his voice thick with emotion. "Our little Cowboy, too."

"Why are you doing that?" I asked, my heart sinking immediately. "Why are you saying goodbye?"

"I'm sorry, baby," Dean murmured, turning to leave.

"Dean." I grabbed his arm, turning him back around. He stared down at my hand, his eyes slowly moving up my arm, drifting to my neck.

Suddenly, Dean grabbed my arms, pushing me back to the wall, not in the way he usually would. My back hit it hard and I stared up at him with wide eyes as his jaw clenched. He swallowed hard, his eyes drifting back to my neck.

A sinking feeling filled my stomach as the thought of what was really going on here popped into my head. Almost as fast as he'd pushed me against the wall, Dean all but threw himself back to the other side of the room just as set of vampire fangs descended from his teeth.

My heart pounded and tears sprang to my eyes, and suddenly it was hard to breathe. I had enough sense to keep my distance, even though it was the most difficult thing. "No. No, Dean."

Before I could really react, Dean tore out of the room. I stood there, completely frozen for a moment as the shock of what I'd just seen began to fade. If Dean was going to go back to Sam, with the way he's been, then he's gonna…

No. I won't let that happen.

I didn't even bother to put on a jacket, grabbing a set of keys as I expertly tip-toed past Bobby, who was passed out on the couch. I got into the car, starting the engine before finding the GPS on my phone to track Dean's. Once I got that set up, I stepped on the gas, speeding off onto the highway.

The GPS said it would take about nine hours to arrive at the motel, but I got there in just under six. I don't think I ever took my foot off the gas pedal. I threw the car in park, exiting the vehicle, the bone-chilling wind whipping around me. I headed into the office, walking straight up to the desk.

"Can I help you?" The tired-looking man asked.

"Is there a Mr. Simmons staying here?" I asked.

"Yes."

"What room?"

"Two-forty-one."

"Thank you," I shot him a forced smile, rushing out of the office and up the single flight of stairs to the second floor. I found the room, my fist pounding on the shut door.

After the third knock, the door opened and Samuel was standing there. My heart sank all over again at the sight of him. If he was here, then does that mean Dean's already…

"Victoria?" Samuel asked in surprise.

"Tori?" Sam asked, standing behind his grandfather. A knowing look crossed his features. "So that's where Dean went."

"Where is he? What did you do to him?" I demanded, pushing the men aside to enter the dimly lit room.

"Tori?" Dean mumbled from the foot of one of the beds. "Baby, what are you doing here?"

"What did you think I was gonna do, just go back to sleep?" My voice cracked. I marched over to where he was laying, gently taking his head in my hands.

"No," He mumbled. I didn't know if he was answering me or telling me not to touch him, but the flinch suggested the latter.

"I'm not gonna let you do anything to him," I told Samuel fiercely, cradling Dean's head in my hands. "You can't-"

"Can't, what? Why do you think I came here?" Samuel asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" I snapped.

"I'm not here to kill Dean. I'm here to save him."

"What?"

"He hasn't fed. He can be turned back."

"Really?" I asked, looking to Sam. "Is that true?"

"Is it?" Sam asked, his tone of voice forced.

Samuel shot him a strange look before nodding. "It's true".

"How is that possible?" I asked, standing upright as Samuel reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small book.

"This is my grandfather's journal," Samuel said, tossing the book down onto the table where it landed with a quiet thump. Dean flinched at the sound, looking as though he was trying to meld into the bed he was leaning against. "Cure's an old Campbell recipe, kind of like the soup. No one's tried it since God knows. What I hear, this stuff is a bad trip."

"Awesome," Dean mumbled.

"Hey, the cure is good. But a lot of this is on _you_. You drink, you're done. It won't work. I'm talking one drop of human blood-"

Dean swallowed hard. "I got it."

"Do you? Because you will feed. It's a matter of time," Samuel pushed.

"Would you quit it already?" I snapped. "What do we need?"

"Some stuff we got, some we gotta get. Trickiest thing on the list: blood of the fang that turned him."

"That guy was huge," Sam piped up.

I glanced over to Sam, an eyebrow raised. "Wait, you were there?"

Sam looked up at me, stumbling over his words. "Well, y- yeah-"

"Why didn't you do anything!?" I demanded, taking a step towards him.

"I'm sure he did all he could, Vicki," Samuel said.

"I don't remember asking you," I snapped, narrowing my eyes at Samuel. "And _don't_ call me that."

"Wow," Samuel chuckled. "You don't know how much you're just like Lizzy."

Breaking my glare away from him, I looked back to Sam. "We're gonna talk about this later."

"Sure, yeah. There's nothing to talk about...but, yeah," Sam nodded, looking back to his grandfather. "So, the vampire that got Dean, we need his blood."

"Hey, there's nothing in the recipe about _easy_ ," Samuel shrugged.

Dean rose from his spot on the floor, a determined look in his eyes. "I can get it."

"You're gonna walk right into the nest?" Sam asked his brother.

"Well, I'm one of them, aren't I? So all I gotta do is get in there, get the guy alone, and...shoot him with so much dead man's blood that he'll think he's rushing a fraternity."

"I should come with you."

"No. Dude, you reek. You're like a walking hamburger. I gotta do this solo."

"Yeah, except we haven't been able to find him yet," Sam pointed out.

"No problem," Dean muttered, pulling on his jacket. "I can smell him. Two miles east of town. You guys get the other shit and meet me there."

I wrapped my arms around myself, watching him. "Dean, I don't like this idea."

"I'll be okay, Cherry Pie," Dean took a cautious step closer to me, very clearly holding his breath. He ran a hand through my hair, gently holding the back of my head as he bent down, placing a kiss on my lips. I tried to control the rate my heart was pounding, but it was hard.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit scared.

When Dean pulled back, I opened my eyes, looking up into his. I sighed. "I love you,"

"I know," Dean nodded, turning to head towards the door when Samuel stopped him.

"Dean," Samuel called, holding out a syringe. "It's dead man's blood. Now, there's enough there to drop a linebacker, and then some. Good luck, son."

And with that, Dean took the syringe and left the room, a heaviness lingering in the air. I headed to the bathroom for a moment away from all of this. I sat on the edge of the tub, resting my head on my hand. Sam and Samuel's voices were muffled by the shut door, but I could still hear their conversation.

"This have anything to do with the alpha we've been looking for?" Samuel asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked innocently.

"You're acting like you didn't know about the cure. You did. We talked about it."

"No. Must've been Christian or something."

Samuel scoffed."Just be glad we can get your brother fixed."

"I am."

"I'll be back for you in a half hour. Be ready," Samuel said, leaving the room.

What the hell did that mean? _Just be glad we can get your brother fixed_? Did Sam…? No he wouldn't have let this happen to Dean...right?

The door shut, so I decided to make my way out of the bathroom, finding Sam sitting at the table, reading John's journal. I sat at the table, across from him, beginning to tap my nails on the wood for a few moments until I couldn't take it anymore.

I had to at least try to get to the bottom of all of this.

"So, you were there when Dean got attacked?"

"Uh, yeah," Sam nodded, placing the book down. "We were out behind this bar-"

"How'd it happen?"

Sam let out a small scoff. "Well, I'm trying to tell you."

"No. I wanna know how _one_ vamp got the jump on both you _and_ Dean."

"I wasn't there, I was looking for the vamps friend. When I came back, he had Dean pinned. I did everything I could. I got him off Dean, and came back here with him…"

"So if I went to that place and got the surveillance footage-"

"What is your problem, Tori?" Sam snapped, forcefully shutting John's journal on the table.

"My problem is that Dean got turned into a vampire, on your watch."

It was Sam's turn to roll his eyes, he huffed, shaking his head. "Tori, that wasn't my fault. I'm not- I'm not his babysitter."

"No, you're his brother. Or did you forget that?"

"Of course not! I tried my best! So if you wanna go get surveillance footage, that's what you're gonna see." Sam spat, looking up at me with nearly blank,eyes. I just stared back, a sickening feeling filling the pit of my stomach as I looked at him. Before anything else could be said, Sam's phone rang and he answered it. "Hey. Good, we'll come down now."

"Samuel back?" I asked.

"Yeah," Sam nodded, standing to his feet. "Time to head out."

* * *

 **WAREHOUSE - NIGHT**

The moon shined brightly on the street in front of us as Samuel drove his van towards the large warehouse that apparently held a group of vampires. The Impala sat in the lot, Samuel pulled up behind it, parking his car.

"This must be the place," Samuel muttered.

"Sh," Sam told us.

Suddenly, a loud thump came from the top of the van, startling us. A vampire appeared at the driver side of the vehicle, reaching in with one arm, he broke through the window, grabbing Samuel's jacket.

By that time, Sam had already gotten out, promptly cutting the vamps head off, sending it flying to the ground.

Samuel got out after him, fixing his belt as he stood there, watching the head roll. "Well, so much for _undercover_."

"Let's go" Sam called, running towards one of the many doors. Samuel and I followed. We entered the warehouse with our machetes drawn, walking through the building where corpses were strewn everywhere, all headless.

"Looks like your brother has some Campbell in him after all," Samuel commented. After walking a little further, we got to a balcony overlooking a large room filled with cages. Dean sat in the middle in a large throne like chair, a vamps head underneath his right foot.

"Dean, you okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," Dean nodded. He got up, trudging up the steps to meet us.

* * *

 **MOTEL - NIGHT**

Back at the motel, Samuel was mixing the cure concoction that Dean was about to drink, squirting one of the syringes of blood into the bowl along with the many other things he'd put in.

"If this works, you know it's not gonna be a kiddy ride," Samuel told Dean.

"That's great. Light her up," Dean mumbled in response. I made sure to keep my distance from Dean for his comfort as he sat on the chair over in the corner of the room, his head in his hands. Sam, however, didn't seem to have that much consideration.

"So, what'd you see in there?" Sam asked, trying not to sound eager to know, but very clearly failing.

"What?"

"In the nest, what'd you see?"

"Sam, I can't hear you, your blood is too fucking loud, okay? Just just back off," Dean snapped.

After finishing the mixture, Samuel poured the thick liquid into a coffee cup, moving to had it to Dean. "Here you go."

Dean took the cup, sniffing the drink. He recoiled instantly. With a heavy sigh, he lifted the mug. "L'chaim."

We watched as Dean chugged the drink, trying to keep it down as he gagged. Suddenly, he spun around, grabbing the nearest trash can, throwing up blood. I immediately became worried, looking over to Samuel for some kind of confirmation that this is supposed to happen, but he looked nervous.

"Is it working?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Either, that or he's dying," Samuel mumbled, pulling out his machete.

I watched him nervously, reaching up to my waist band, placing a hand on my gun. No matter what Dean was, if he thought I was just going to stand here and let him hurt him...he had another thing coming. Out of nowhere, Dean's head whipped up as he held his stomach, a set of fangs descending from his normal teeth, his eyes red and bloodshot.

A moment later, Dean looked up to me, his eyes there normal, clear selves once again. I watched him as he waited a moment, letting out a heavy breath.

"Did it work?" I asked, kneeling down in front of him.

"I- I think so," Dean nodded. Without hesitation, I threw myself in his arms, tears filling my eyes. "Babe, that stuff came back up, I stink."

"I don't care," I murmured into his chest, hugging him tighter until I felt him wrap his arms around me.

* * *

Not too long later, we were packing up the cars. I couldn't tell you how many times I'd already heard from Dean that I shouldn't have come, that it was too dangerous. And he'd heard from me that I was here, and he needed to deal with it, just the same amount of times.

"So, what'd you see?" Sam asked once again, not even giving Dean some time to process what just happened to him. I shot him a look, one he ignored.

"What?" Dean questioned again.

"In the next. What did you see?"

"Well, I'm still trying to work through it. But I'm pretty sure they're not figuring anything out on their own. They're getting their order from the top...where to do next, everything."

"Top as in…?" Samuel asked.

"Their alpha. At least, that's what I think it is. They've got some sort of psychic thing happening. He send them, uh, I don't know, messages?"

"Saying what?" Sam asked.

"Honestly? Recruitment drive. Their alpha's building an army."

"Well, that's comforting," Samuel mumbled, tossing something into one of his bags.

"That's not the worst," Dean said.

"What is?" I asked.

"We don't scare them anymore."

"Nice to know," Samuel sighed, slinging his bag over his shoulder, backing up towards his van. "See you kids around."

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "And Samuel? Thanks."

"Anytime," Samuel waved it off with a smile, getting into his van. Dean shut the Impala's trunk, looking up to Sam. It was almost like he wanted to say something, but then thought better of it and got into the driver seat. Sam followed along, getting into the passenger seat, while I slid into the back.

Even though I knew Dean would hate the idea, I wasn't going back to Bobby's Not after what I saw here. Something was wrong with Sam, but it was way more than we thought, it had to be. The way he looked at me before...he was gone. The wasn't anything in those eyes. He was empty.

I couldn't shake the feeling that what happened to Dean wasn't just a mere _slip up_ as Sam had tried to pass it off, so even though I knew it was dangerous, I wasn't leaving. And no one could make me.

* * *

 **Heeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyy you guuuuess! I'm back ;)**


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